UnLabel Poverty: Civic Dialogue & Installation.
A studio project with Asheville Poverty Initiative
This three-day public installation was created to challenge assumptions about poverty and restore dignity to those experiencing homelessness in Asheville, NC.
The Installation & Public Programming
Working in sustained partnership with Asheville Poverty Initiative and the 12 Baskets Café community, I spent months building trust with café patrons, volunteers, and community members. Each portrait emerged from relationship—part conversation, part sitting—when someone was ready to be seen.
The installation featured large-scale portrait pairs (person + their own words) displayed in street-facing windows and interior gallery space. Each person chose how they wanted to be labeled, reclaiming their identity and story.
The three-day event included guided poverty education walks through downtown Asheville, creative writing shared by members of the 12 Baskets community, and panel discussions on lived experience, poverty education, affordable housing, and public policy—featuring community members, advocates, and elected officials including our state senator.
Project Leadership:
Photography, design, production, installation.
Fundraising and donor engagement: Crafted donor materials and secured funding for printing, production, and installation costs
Institutional partner: Asheville Poverty Initiative
Presented by Sugar Hollow Solar
Supported by Dogwood Health Trust
Impact: The three-day event drew hundreds of community members into conversations about poverty, dignity, and belonging. The work elevated community awareness of API's mission, attracted new volunteers, and continues to inform their Realities of Poverty education programming.
