April 03, 2015

The Project HOME Art Program empowers homeless men, women, and low-income families to express their personal journeys through art-making. Through a vibrantly growing partnership between Project HOME and Drexel, Westphal will host its second Artists for All Seasons exhibition featuring the works of select Project HOME artists. A free-to-the-public opening reception will take place on Monday, April 13 at 6:00pm in the URBN Center Lobby (3501 Market Street), where the exhibition will be on display through April 24. In addition to the exhibition, Project HOME has partnered with our Design & Merchandising program in a number of ways over the last year that have engaged students in visual merchandising projects related to Project HOME’s social enterprises.

The Project HOME art program offers a wide variety of year-round workshops that engage participants with the transformative power of art, to communicate experiences, share perspectives and build skills, in addition to giving artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell work. Artists for All Seasons 2015 features the work of Andreas Walsh, Gerald Halley, Vincent Sangmiester and Adam Kerin. Westphal Design & Merchandising students recently worked with Project HOME to develop a payment process flow for artworks sold through the exhibition, in addition to assisting with the April 13 event logistics.

During the past two terms, Visual Merchandising classes led by Design & Merchandising Professor Kristen Ainscoe have also provided design and consultation to Project HOME’s resale boutique. The “HOME Spun” boutique is a retail business model that empowers people recovering from chronic homelessness through employment and job training opportunities. Design & Merchandising students developed a look-book, popup store design, an online operations manual, wholesale pricing, and marketing plan for the boutique.

D&M students aren’t the only ones to collaborate with Project HOME. At the first Artists for All Seasons exhibition at the URBN Center in 2013, a group of Westphal students volunteered in open art sessions, working individually with Project HOME artists and assisting with curating the show. And, the invitations to both exhibitions were designed by Graphic Design students.

The art program and social enterprises are only part of the number of services that the non-profit Project HOME provides to formally homeless families and individuals, including subsidized housing programs, healthcare and recovery services, teen and youth programs, job readiness workshops, adult literacy and GED classes, and access to resources that help local residents improve their lives, gain employment and pursue higher education. To learn more about this wonderful organization please click here.