We are all homeless

Christmas for the Homeless - 2011

2011-12-30T15:24:00.001-06:00

See all the photos by clicking here. :-)

Pics from FOUR

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After 3 very rewarding years at UTD, I finally graduated with an MFA in Arts and Technology. Part of the final MFA show included this installation entitled HOME?, which utilized many of the homeless signs in my collection.

New signs from Austin, March 2011

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You can see the whole set by clicking here.

Just entered the Stephen Colbert Portrait Contest.

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As irreverent as it is, looking for some big exposure for the homeless cause. These are all authentic homeless signs I've bought over the years...

We are all homeless featured on KDAF!

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See our story on Channel 33!

We are all homeless - November 2010

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We are all homeless - November 2010 from Willie Baronet on Vimeo.

Thanks to all of you who participated in any way! And thanks to Mona Kasra for shooting this footage. :-)

Thanks for all your support!

2010-11-20T16:07:00.003-06:00

We had a terrific turnout for today's event near Northpark Mall. Some pictures are up, click here and here! At least 2 tv stations were there shooting footage: the33tv and Univision. As it turned out we weren't allowed to hand out any material to cars on the street, but there was a tremendous amount of traffic and I believe we got a lot of attention!

Thanks to all those who stood and held signs, shot photos or video, conducted interviews for the media, promoted our event, and to the police who were there to make sure all went well. It couldn't happen without all of you!!!

And if you're new to this blog, check out the links to the right for ways you can help local homeless organizations with your time or money.

Blessings to all for a great Thanksgiving!

Next event: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20

2010-11-07T19:05:00.005-06:00

There was an overwhelming preference for Saturday, November 20 as the date of our next WE ARE ALL HOMELESS art gathering. This is the Saturday before Thanksgiving AND the final day of NATIONAL HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK. Perfect timing!

Time will be 2 or 3pm that Saturday afternoon. Location will be disclosed to the participants ahead of time. (Dallas)

WHAT I NEED NOW: Is to know if you are IN, and if so, what you will be wearing. As I've mentioned, the theme for this event is THE HOMELESS VILLAGE PEOPLE, and I'm hoping that people will show up in a wide variety of outfits.

For example: doctor, business person, construction worker, football player, basketball player, soccer player, baseball player, nurse, teacher, yoga instructor, dancer, lounge singer, person in tux or evening gown, person wearing clothes based on their nationality or religion, priest, nun, rabbi, clown, actor, artist, painter, carpenter, hairdresser, student, skateboarder, boat captain, chef, waitperson, maitre ‘d, pirate, musician (with any instrument or microphone), policeperson, military person (army/navy/air force/marine/reserves), maintenance person, janitorial staff, housekeeper, nanny, vampire, Jesus, Gandhi, historical figure, etc. The point is to represent many different segments of people to reinforce the theme: WE ARE ALL HOMELESS.

People can also just wear street clothes or our black t-shirts that say “we are all homeless”. It's all good! (And if you don't have your t-shirt from the last event, let me know!).

If you need some time to think about a costume, that is OK too! But let me know if you are IN so I can plan accordingly and make sure you are in the loop with future announcements. :-)

I will supply the homeless signs.

As always, thanks so much for your support and help. I think this will be the most interesting event yet! And tell your friends to join the facebook group!

Love and blessings,

Willie

In addition to the cards we normally hand out, we will also be handing these out (supplies are limited :-):

The Story with Dick Gordon - Airing this Friday night at 9pm on 90.1 KERA!!!

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Here is a link to the story! (My part starts about halfway through.)

I was interviewed to be on a nationally syndicated radio show that airs (in Dallas) at 9pm daily on KERA. The show is called The Story with Dick Gordon. The Story is produced at North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC, and is co-produced and distributed by American Public Media.

Here is a blurb from their website:

Our goal is to find people whose lives are intersecting with significant issues in the news and give them the opportunity to tell their story. At a time when "celebrity rules" and the only "ordinary" people we see are faces in the crowd, The Story reminds listeners that their stories and their lives matter. We believe that by creating a space for first person stories we are choosing not to accept a pollster's version of our thoughts and attitudes.

The interview covered all aspects of the homeless signs project, from the buying and collecting, to the process of creating art using the signs, to the gatherings of We Are All Homeless.

Thanks again to all of you for your support!! :-)

Join our Facebook Group!

2010-08-08T19:55:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Get ready for another homeless event this Fall! The homeless village people. Details to come. Be thinking about what you might wear and represent at the gathering. Thanks as always for your support, AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN US!

Be sure to join our FACEBOOK group! There is a link at the right. :-)

Video from IgniteDallas 2 (06/02/2010)

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We Are All Homeless Interviews - video by Jaime Fowler

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Video by Ben Smithson. Thanks Ben!!

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Homeless Flash Mob 2: Photos by Dean Terry

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You can see all of Dean's photos here. Thanks Dean!

Homeless Flash Mob 2 broadcast page...

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Thank you all for making today such a great success! Other than a brief run in with the very unfriendly manager at Cafe Express, things went well. We passed out a lot of cards, and got quite a bit of attention. The t-shirts helped.

These feeds were live during the event, and for those of you who won't be able to be there you can watch the archived footage now. Thanks to the members of my MobileLab video class, and to all of you who supported this effort.

Mike Stephens

Mary Skinner

Ben Smithson

Chelsea Conway

Next event: April 17

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Join the facebook event here! More details to come on location, etc. If you would like to be a member on this blog, please leave a comment here or at the facebook page and I'll add you to the list.

If any of you are willing to do some PR for the event please contact me.

Thanks!!

A video by Mona Kasra about the event

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We Are All Homeless from monaism on Vimeo.

Thanks Mona!

More pics from November 21, 2009

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These photos courtesy of Sheila Cunningham. Thanks Sheila!

Homeless flash mob November 21, 2009

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Saturday, November 21 was the first homeless flash mob event of this project. We stood for about an hour at the intersection of Mockingbird and Central in Dallas, where there was a tremendous stream of traffic on the weekend before Thanksgiving. About 25 people participated and we handed out hundreds of cards to people interested in what we were doing. Thanks to all of you who were there and all who've been supportive of this project!!

The "WE ARE ALL HOMELESS" Project - an introduction

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This project began in 1993 when I started buying and collecting signs from the homeless. (More on that in the description of the art show HOME?) Over the past few years I have developed art work using the signs, as I've been pursuing an MFA in Arts & Technology at UTDallas.

In the Fall 2009 semester we were challenged to develop an art project that would be interventionist in nature, meaning that it would cause some interruption in our daily lives, which resulted in the development of WE ARE ALL HOMELESS.

The project is going to be a series of "flash mob happenings," where a few dozen people holding up authentic homeless signs will converge on an intersection or other public location(s). Some of the team will be armed with video cameras and/or other recording devices to capture conversations between the public and people involved in the project. (Exact times and locations still being determined).

The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about homelessness, and provide information and resources to people who want to help. And to change the preconceived ideas many people have about the homeless and their situations.

This blog has links to Dallas area homeless shelters and support networks, and below is more information about the project, related art projects, and homelessness in general. If you are interested in participating, leave a comment on this blog and your contact information.

Thanks and blessings for your interest in helping the homeless.

Willie Baronet

Cards we hand out to the public

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You can help!

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You can donate your money and your time to these institutions and others who are helping the homeless in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Click on the links below. Thank you!

Promise House

The Stewpot

Housing Crisis Center

Dallas Life Foundation

Genesis Women's Shelter

Austin Street Centre

HOME? - selected works by Willie Baronet

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Show opening 11.11.09

Runs through 11.28.09

Hal Samples Gallery

2814 Main Street

Dallas, TX

A portion of the proceeds from this show will be donated to The Stewpot.

Artist's statement for HOME? - opening 11.11.09

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I am fascinated by the notion of “home.” Is it a physical place, a building, a structure, a house? Is it a state of being, a sense of safety, of being provided for, of identity? And what does it mean to be homeless: practically, spiritually, emotionally?

Since 1993 I’ve been buying and collecting homeless signs from people on the streets, in subways, under bridges, in cities near and far. It began from an awkwardness I felt when I’d pull up to an intersection and encounter a person holding a sign, asking for help. Like many people I wrestled with whether or not I was doing good by giving them money, wondered if they would spend the money on food or alcohol or drugs. Mostly I struggled with my moral obligations, and how my own choices contributed in conscious or unconscious ways to the poverty I was witnessing. I struggled with the unfairness of the lives people are born into, the physical, mental and psychological handicaps. And in my struggle I often avoided eye contact with those on the street, unwilling to really “see” them, and in doing so avoided seeing parts of myself.

All of that changed once I began asking them if they were willing to sell their signs. Immediately the dynamic changed between us, as we both had something the other wanted. I became very comfortable with the negotiations, and ultimately very comfortable in conversation with the homeless. I began to see them and hear them, and realized how vastly different they (and their stories) were. Some of my encounters were quite touching, and years later I can still remember many of them: the woman who cried telling me that the sign I’d bought had been made by her late husband, the many who asked me why I wanted the signs and were fascinated and inquisitive about using them in artwork, the very intoxicated man who wanted to autograph the sign before turning it over. My relationship to the homeless has been powerfully altered.

As a graphic designer for much of my professional career, I also marveled at the typography of the signs themselves, and the messages that were written. Wondering about the choices made by each person in the way they wrote, the size and legibility of the letters, the words they decided mattered enough to be on the signs. And occasionally the drawings, the humor, the typos.

I see the signs now as signposts of my own journey, inward and outward, of reconciling my life and my judgments with the plight of the homeless, and even with the notions of home, goodness, and compassion. Part of the passion that drives me to share this work with others is so that they too might examine their own.

Willie Baronet