UnLabel Poverty is a portrait series created outside 12 Baskets Café in Asheville, NC, where those navigating poverty find community, care, meals, and belonging. Made over months of return visits, each portrait emerged from trust—part conversation, part photo session—when someone was ready to sit, share, and be seen.

The series features unhoused individuals, volunteers, poverty educators, and board members of Asheville Poverty Initiative. Each person is photographed against a black backdrop using natural light, with final image approval given to all participants. Everyone looks directly into the lens—meeting the viewer as an equal.