Represent

Our incredibly talented friend and client, Lauri Lyons, just completed a residency with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis – using her photography to raise public awareness about the homeless youth population in the Twin Cities. Her project was a collaboration with the Kulture Klub Collaborative, ran from Aug 1 -21, and is called HOME IS WHERE YOU MAKE IT. Lauri is the first black female photographer to be signed to Getty Images and to shoot the cover of Fortune Magazine. We first worked with Lauri on her photo essay book, FLAG: An American Story.

HOME IS WHERE YOU MAKE IT was  a three-week long series of artist-led workshops where homeless youth wrote personal narratives and shot black and white portraits under Lauri’s guidance.  The portraits were then digitally enlarged and mounted onto cardboard and assembled by the teens into 5’ x 7’ ‘houses’ on the street.  The interactive installations provided an opportunity for homeless youth to develop and display their artwork to a broad audience and challenged common perceptions of the homeless population.

Six ‘houses’ were  installed at various locations across the Twin Cities, including a temporary installation at the Walker Art Center. Next, a companion book will accompany the project, featuring the portraits and handwritten texts of each teen discussing their interpretation of the term ‘home’ as well as their experiences being homeless. Fifty books will be printed, distributed to participants, and available for purchase online.

Represent worked with local media to get coverage on Minneapolis Public Radio, Minneapolis Post, Minneapolis City Pages, and several blogs such as Smart Girls Know,  PhotographyBLOG.

Tags: , Home is Where You Make It, Homeless Youth, Kulture Klub Collaborative, Lauri Lyons, photography, Walker Art Center

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