About 14 Stations

This work was made in collaboration with men and women transitioning out of homelessness and who are affiliates of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH), a non-profit organization located at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The project is modeled on the traditional devotional, The Stations of the Cross. Members of the group enacted each Station, with a different man or woman assuming the role of the Christ figure in each. The resulting tableaus were photographed. The oversize black-and-white photographs, mounted on backlit displays, where first exhibited in West Park Church in 2002.

The full exhibition is presented as "town hall" style gathering which has several components: Part I: visitors enter the space and browse the illuminated photographs; Part II: panel discussion and testimony (different people are brought in each time policy makers, homelessness experts, scholars as well as homeless individuals in whatever city the work is being shown; Part III: 14 Stations Performance including spoken word by project participants, live piano and projected images; Part IV: food and conversation. 14 Stations has been shown in a variety of cities in the New York State area including a three-month run at Brooklyn Museum (January-March 2005). The 14 Stations Performance was presented by Emmanuel Music in Boston in 2003 and in March 2005, was the subject of a collaborative project with the Brooklyn Philharmonic for their "Music Off the Walls" series. The work traveled to Yale Divinity School in the spring of 2006. The project as a whole has significantly raised the profile of the IAHH, energized it core constituents, and raised money for the organization. 14 Stations has resonated with audiences in a variety of diverse settings not only because it draws attention to the issue of homelessness, but also because of the way in which it features human beings finally rising above their every day conditions.

The IAHH is committed to bearing witness to the dignity of all vulnerable people, particularly those who have been homeless, as well as to participate in the development of public policies which will serve to assist homeless people to secure needed social services, affordable housing, education, job training and adequate employment. Some members of the Assembly have developed personal stories of how they became homeless and recovered their independent lives. This group, which calls itself Speakers Bureau, seeks creative ways of finding their voices and presenting these stories to the public in a variety of settings such as schools, houses of worship and shelters. This work was made in collaboration with men and women transitioning out of homelessness and who are affiliates of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH), a non-profit organization located at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

14 Stations was made possible, in part, by funds from the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale Divinity School, the Durfee Foundation, the Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art, the Jerome Foundation and The New York State Council on the Arts.

Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing 1047 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10025 (212) 316-3171.