Press Release
February 3, 2025
Denver Artist Collaborates with Previously Unhoused to Address Barriers of Homelessness
Collaborative artmaking, discussions, and opportunities for public speaking provide residents of Saint Francis Apartments with meaning, purpose, and fair pay. The project culminates in an art exhibition, opening March 27, 2025
Residents of Saint Francis Apartments during the collaborative sessions. Photos by Daniel Brenner.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
UPCOMING EVENT LOCATION: Understudy
890 C 14th Street
Denver, CO, 80202
UPCOMING EXHIBITION ON VIEW: March 27, 2025 - April 27, 2025
UPCOMING OPENING RECEPTION: March 27, 2025, 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Open to the public. Free Admission.
Denver, CO – Heard to be Seen, Seen to be Heard (HSSH) is an exhibition and collaborative art project between artist Emma Balder and Saint Francis Apartments (SFA) residents, who are transitioning out of homelessness. During three collaborative sessions in September 2024, 18 residents gathered for regenerative artmaking and group dialogue. The work culminates in an exhibition at Understudy from March 27 - April 27, featuring a large-scale collaborative sculpture, media content, and residents’ process-based drawings and writings completed during the sessions. An opening reception will occur on March 27 from 4:00pm – 7:00pm; select participants will speak publicly about their experience at 5:30pm. Admission is free and open to the public.
The collaborative sessions brought positive change, newfound hope, and a sense of community to formerly unhoused residents of SFA. Residents shared and scribed moving stories around debilitating health issues, addiction, and goals toward independence. They offered emotional and physical support to each other during these vulnerable moments. These discussions aligned with collective artmaking, in a process based on Balder’s personal studio practice, to address challenges and reframe their thinking. Participants collectively created an abstract painting, then cut it up, rearranged the pieces, and adhered them together in a new way. The completed artwork is a boulder-like sculpture, representing residents’ resilience and strength. Thanks to the support of an Arts in Society grant, administered through Redline Contemporary Art Center, participating residents were compensated $20/hour for their contribution to the project. Through collective creation and dialogue, the project aims to address the emotional, physical, and financial barriers people face transitioning out of homelessness and re-establish their value within society.
“I learned that challenges affect everyone and I’m not alone. Everyone can be creative.”
“This project made my life more fun, especially knowing something I made is in the art world.”
“I really enjoyed myself. It helped a lot with my depression.”
Social Media:
Artist Emma Balder: @balderthanyou
Photographer Daniel Brenner: @danieljbrenner
Saint Francis Center: @saintfranciscenter
Understudy: @understudy_denver
Arts in Society Grant: @artsinsociety
Tags: #emmabalder #heardtobeseen
CONTACT : Emma Balder
PHONE: 617-939-4240
EMAIL: emmaabalder@gmail.com
WEBSITE: https://www.emmabalder.com/heard-to-be-seen-arts-in-society
About the Collaborators:
Saint Francis Apartments at Cathedral Square (SFA) offers permanent supportive housing for 49 adults formerly experiencing homelessness. In addition to safe, stable housing, they offer residents support in case management, community-building, and access to social services. Residents vary in identity and time spent living at SFA. They apply for residency through Saint Francis Center, which offers direct services to Denver’s unhoused population.
www.sfcdenver.org/programs-services/housing/
Emma Balder is a visual artist working at the intersection of painting and textiles. She received her BFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2012. Her work has been featured in 303 Magazine, Denver Life Magazine, Luxe Magazine, Wyoming News Now, Art Houston Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, the Houston Chronicle and more. She has exhibited with venues such as Torpedo Factory Art Center (Alexandria, VA), Lawndale Art Center (Houston), Trestle Gallery (New York), Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX), Gutstein Gallery (Savannah), Art Museum of Southeast Texas (Beaumont, TX) among others. In 2022, Balder was a recipient of the Houston Arts Alliance Support for ArUsts and CreaUve Individuals grant, funded by the City of Houston, in which she facilitated a community project and installaUon with texUles. In 2024, she was awarded an Arts in Society Colorado grant for a collaborative project with formerly unhoused adults. Balder has facilitated workshops throughout the US, including at the MCA Denver and Museum of Fine Arts Houston. From 2019-2022 she served as a volunteer member with BOX13 ArtSpace, a long-standing artist-run 501c3 in Houston. As of 2023, Balder lives and works in Denver, Colorado. www.emmabalder.com
About the Venue:
Understudy is a 700 square foot arts and culture incubator space dedicated to creative exploration. Understudy provides a free, central, and innovative platform to artists and creative groups for experimentation. Located in the Colorado Convention Center (CCC) at 890 C 14th St., Understudy is operated, curated, and funded by the Denver Theatre District.
www.denvertheatredistrict.com/understudy
Please direct media inquiries to Emma Balder at 617-939-4240 or by email at emmaabalder@gmail.com.
A folder of press images can be accessed here (photo credit: Daniel Brenner).
Residents of Saint Francis Apartments work together during the September 2024 collaborative sessions led by Emma Balder. Photos by Daniel Brenner.
