Shining picture frames filled with smiling faces, young and old, grace the clean white walls of the Museum of Northern California Art (MONCA) in Chico. The photos have no names, titles or information about the people in them, only a single letter of the alphabet that corresponds with stories on the opposite wall.
Free of any labels, the display allows visitors to see the people photographed as humans not stereotypes. All were, or are, currently homeless.
The photos are part of a new art exhibit being shown at MONCA through Sunday. The display asks residents to question the assumptions they make about people experiencing homelessness in their community.
“Labels: The Lives Behind The Labels” isn’t meant to place blame or point fingers, said creator Christine MacShane, but instead tries to prompt visitors to imagine a different way of thinking about homelessness. She’d like to see more people think about how the issue affects those living the experience, similarly to how many would think about someone living with another issue, such as cancer.
“We treat cancer and the cancer patient separately,” MacShane said. “We really want a solution to cancer, so we throw money at it, we do everything we can. We are compassionate with those who have it and it doesn’t matter how the cancer patient got cancer, we just help them.”
MacShane said with homelessness, many have combined the issue with those affected by it. People tend to blame those who are unhoused for being homeless, she said. They also tend to blame each other.
“The political divide has become so normalized and very much a part of our life …” MacShane said. “It’s just kind of stalling any real resolution to problems.”
The exhibit is MacShane’s way of getting people back to a middle ground. The art isn’t meant to be heavy or somber, but instead meant to invite communication. There are interactive elements, including a documentary playing in a nearby room. Visitors can also voice their thoughts, play games and have fun.
For example one activity asks visitors to try to match photos of people to the person’s story. MacShane says this challenge is meant to articulate that people have to make assumptions, but also to realize they may not always be right. It shows visitors that looks are often deceiving, and not to make judgements based off of them.
MacShane said people need to stop disconnecting themselves from the bigger story, which is the complexities that lead to homelessness.
“All of these little stories that we’re following in this exhibit and in the documentary, they’re all very much a part of our community,” she said. “People will notice there are so many similarities to their own lives. There was just one point in each life where things got kicked in a way that couldn’t be changed.”
The exhibit allows visitors to get to know the people it features, their stories, their struggles and how they’re judged for what’s happened in their life.
MacShane’s hope is that people will come away from the exhibit with a more open mind. She said if people can find common ground when talking about homelessness, there will be more compassion shown to those experiencing it, and a better path toward helping them.
