Just skip the buffalo and give me a home

“Give me a home where the buffalo roam, or just skip the buffalo,” reads a poster in the “Home/Homeless” exhibit now on display through Sept. 9 at H.O.M.E. in Orland. The show, a project of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, includes 100 works by a variety of artists, half of whom are homeless people.

Intended to provoke questions about the sanctity of home and the realities of homelessness, the exhibit will travel throughout Maine raising money for shelters and the participating artists. More than 20 pieces have already been sold, according to co-organizer Natasha Mayers, who taught art in a soup kitchen in Augusta in order to recruit work for the exhibition. Since the show’s opening, more people have been attending the classes.

“We include their work in the hope that the rest of us may be better able to see homeless people as individuals, not stereotypes, statistics or problems,” said Mayer.

“I think it helped them have a focus and helped their self-esteem,” said Susan Drucker, who organized the show with Mayers.

Homeless artists will receive all proceeds from their work, and professional artists will receive 60 percent of the proceeds. The remaining 40 percent will benefit shelters in the area of the exhibition, said Mayers.

According to a Maine State Housing Authority survey of emergency shelters, on any given night, 1,500 people are homeless and looking for shelter in approximately 31 shelters throughout the state.

“Art work can keep issues alive that reports can’t,” said Drucker. “We wanted to raise awareness of the issue.”

“Home/Homeless” will remain at H.O.M.E. until Sept. 9. The exhibit will then move to the Maine State Library in Augusta until Oct. 10. A closing reception will be held 5-7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the library. Proceeds will benefit mental illness awareness week projects.