The Project HOME Art Program, in collaboration with Studio Incamminati, provides a foundational art workshop to individuals recovering from homelessness. As participants learn principles of drawing from they also develop practical, social and technical skills.

Studio Incamminati Fellow Wendy Wagner is the program's lead instructor, assisted by Fellow Michela Mansuino, Instructor Dan Mahlman and alumna Julie Holmes. They teach the 10-week foundational course which uses still-life charcoal drawing to teach the eight participants to utilize art to communicate experiences, offer personal perspectives and build skills. It is based on Studio Incamminati’s curriculum which requires artists to see the “big picture,” develop motor skills and utilize critical thinking.

“Charcoal is an ideal subject for beginning the concentrated study of drawing,” according to Pierson. “Beginning full-time students at Studio Incamminati spend at least 12 hours per week studying still-life drawing. Still life allows us to see beauty in the ordinary, express the symbolic or personal meaning.”

Activities provided by the Project HOME Art Program empower individuals with choices, connects individuals to historical narratives and philosophies, provides recreational problem-solving opportunities, develops and articulates fine motor skills, provides sensory stimulation, enables social skills and interactions and provides an outlet for expression, exploration, discovery and learning in a fun environment. In addition, the program provides opportunities to exhibit and sell work to generate income. Along with these benefits, participants gain invaluable skills including improved concentration and attention span, practice working within time frames, patience and perseverance, creativity, as well as personal and job-related skills.

Now available, a book chronicling the program and the artists.

To purchase, click the image

While participants focus on art practices as a means to overcome adversities, the teaching artists develop new communication abilities by working with a disadvantaged community. Both organizations benefit from the enriching cultural exchange. 

The program is funded by Studio Incamminati board member Richard Rossello, owner of Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr and New York City, and administered by Rachel Ehrgood, Project Home Art Program Coordinator.