Reach Studio uses art as a medium for assisting homeless clients in moving toward self-sufficiency and transforms public spaces abdicated to blight by reclaiming them, through art, as public commons.
In summer of 2010, RedLine piloted Reach Studio with St. Francis Center and Metro State College of Denver (MSCD) to address the urgent social issues around homelessness in Denver. The goal of this student-initiated project was to assist staff of managed cases with moving clients on the pathway to self-sufficiency. Students from MSCD interviewed and brought 50 homeless clients from St. Francis Center into RedLine for a five week intensive art workshop series culminating in a dual exhibition of their artwork at the Center for Visual Arts and at RedLine. The workshops included photography, ceramics, painting, drawing and mixed-media. The exhibit was viewed by 150 visitors and four pieces of the homeless artists' works were sold for $50. The students received donations and a small grant from the Center for Urban Connections at MSCD for art and framing supplies.
RedLine proposes to expand Reach Studio in 2011 to include development of art administration skills—the business of art-making—and permanent installations of works by homeless artists in targeted venues in Denver. Participants will learn how to prepare and participate in a gallery "call for entry" and will gain digital technology proficiency by photographing and uploading their artwork to an online learning community. As such, Reach Studio will directly augment case management related to workforce readiness by creating a nonthreatening pathway for homeless residents to begin their re-entry into mainstream society. Clients will complete a project, receive affirmation from peers, present art in the public forum and build concrete professional skills in the following areas: meeting deadlines, creativity, proposal making, idea generation, accepting criticism, problem solving, public presentation, project completion, and time-management. Many homeless clients have struggled with the structure of the business world. Art is a career that can offer opportunities for income and professional achievement in a more flexible work environment. Research on the best practices in case management of people who are homeless shows that frequency of contact and supportive services, such as mental health counseling and job development, is associated with better client outcomes, specifically in the areas of housing stability, retention in case management, and positive client satisfaction.
