Raising awareness for Homelessness through visual storytelling in New York City
Content Production by Aaron Kho Studios
Curated by The VALO Group, raising awareness for the New York City Rescue Mission
Out of Focus: Untold Stories of Our Homeless Neighbors (2017)
Out of Focus: Untold Stories of Our Homeless Neighbors was created to bring the stories of guests from the New York City Rescue Mission into the light. The audience is invited to immerse themselves in these narratives of ostracism and abandonment, struggle and triumph, dreams and aspirations, and ultimately of hope restored.
Featuring portraits and audio excerpts from nine guests of the New York City Rescue mission, Out of Focus was conceptualized as an experiential exhibition allowing audiences to hear firsthand from the homeless guests residing at the New York City Rescue Mission.
The exhibition was held at New York University’s Lafayette Hall, a student dormitory located next to the New York City Rescue Mission.
Aaron Kho giving his opening remarks to the audience participating in the exhibition opening.
Cardboard campaign where audience members are encouraged to write a message of encouragement and post it on social media.
Nine men and women have stories worthy of being told and portraits are worthy of being captured.
Listen to three of the stories from nine guests featured in the Out of Focus exhibition
“I don’t want to be a hypocritical dad. My daughters - I want them to see me for who I am - Not a figment of another imagination they thought about.”
Lord
I can’t be anybody else. I tried to be other people. I tried to do other things. I have tried to do other things but me.
Zachary
When I’ve been married three weeks, I knew that I wanted out. And I didn’t know at that time how to articulate what was going on, and I just thought probably I am strong, but I am a compliant strong.
Detra
Telling a visual story about homelessness requires meticulous attention to details
1. Stories told from the source are ordinary stories that yielded the biggest learning lessons for the audience. Edited down to bitesize clips between 2 to 3 minutes, we have chosen sections of our interview with the guests that provokes contemplation and reflection while carrying the message that “homelessness is always one step away” from anyone.
2. Where the visuals could only tell a part of the guest’s story, the audio component of the show provides a fuller picture. Dispelling common stereotypes of the homeless population in New York - that they are poor and do not have a job - the bitesize stories instead showcase the resilience of the guests and the multitude of factors that eventually led to their decision to enroll in the New York City Rescue Mission program. A glimmer of authenticity is highlighted through these stories amidst fragmented accounts about “the homeless” distorted by the media.
3. Casting has to be done with intent to showcase not just the guests with the most compelling stories, but also representative of guests from diverse backgrounds that the New York City Rescue Mission offers their resources to. Out of the countless guests who have graduated or are close to graduate from the New York City Rescue Mission’s recovery program, guests were purposefully chosen based on their backgrounds and their level of comfort in sharing their unique journey to the student population. Taken into account was the choice to feature people of color, people who identify as queer or from different class orientations, immigrants etc.
4. Extreme care was taken in every step of the process - from interview to publishing - to ensure that the interviewed guests are feeling comfortable to share their experiences and are represented impartially throughout their stories. Steps are taken to ensure that the intent of the visuals and storytelling stay true throughout the duration of the project. Should the guests feel uncomfortable at any moment, they have a choice to depict what they want to represent.
Guests participating in the audio-visual exhibition during opening night
This New York City Rescue Mission guest has chosen not to photograph his face for the exhibition.
Special thanks to Rebecca Lee, the New York City Rescue Mission, Angie Kim, Alex Merchant, Glafira Shanabrook, Darren Boswell, Ivan Kelemen, Nathaniel Picard-Busky, Samantha Trance, Editha Mesina, Tom Drysdale, Mark Jenkinson, Caleb Savage. This exhibition ran from 30 April to 15 August 2017 at Lafayette Hall and was open to all New York University Staff and Students.