"Stories From the Streets" Exhibit at the Central Library Spotlights Portraits of Real Change Vendors
release date: April 18, 2024
A new exhibit at The Seattle Public Library’s Central Library offers a powerful and hopeful glimpse into the lives of Real Change vendors, the hard-working, unhoused and low-income community members who sell the Real Change newspaper on the streets of Seattle.
Commemorating more than 10 years of the Real Change Portrait Project, “Stories From the Streets” showcases 28 portraits of Real Change vendors created by local artists from 2014 to 2024. A short bio accompanies each portrait. The exhibit will be on view in the Central Library’s Level 8 gallery through June 16.
In the course of the Real Change Portrait Project, nearly 50 local artists have volunteered their time and talents to get to know participating vendors and render their humanity through portraiture. These artists have depicted their subjects through a range of media, from acrylic and oil paint on canvas to photography, collage and 3-D decoupage. Visit “Stories From the Streets” and you’ll see portraits of Lorenzo Dabenzo drawn in colored pencil (Anya Watson, 2024), Sharon Sherpa in digital art (Nero Villagallos O’Reilly, 2024), Janice Dampler in oil (Nina Dutorac, 2024), and many more.
One section of the exhibit features portraits of vendors who have passed on. Derek Grundy’s oil painting of Sharon Jones, known as “Ms. Real Change,” shows a smiling woman who would always answer the question of how she was with the answer “blessed and well.” She died in 2019. Vendor Nick Maxwell, who passed away in 2020, is shown in two portraits – a colorful painting on wood (Leigh Knowles Matter, 2016) and a marker drawing (Travis Bundy, 2013).
This project, as a placard in the exhibit says, invites viewers to “enter a transformative space for cross-class connection and empathy, and gain a deeper understanding of our shared humanity … We know you will walk away from these images forever changed. You’re welcome, and thank you.”
Images from the Real Change Portrait Project have been displayed at coffee shops, bars and libraries throughout the state, but this is the first time these pieces have been publicly displayed with new works since 2016.
You can find out more about the lived experiences of those experiencing homelessness, and the causes of and potential solutions to homelessness and poverty with a list of books and resources highlighted on the exhibit web page.
ABOUT REAL CHANGE
Seattle’s only “street paper,” Real Change is a member of the International Network of Street Papers and part of a global movement to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty through community-centered, relationship-based media and anti-poverty advocacy. Real Change is the largest street paper in the U.S. and one of the longest-running — covering local current events from politics to climate change and small business to healthcare, plus arts and culture. And Real Change is not just a newspaper – it’s the lowest-barrier job opportunity in the region, serving the greater Seattle area’s homeless and low-income communities.
MORE INFORMATION
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. Find more events at www.spl.org/Calendar.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.