Marc Clamage Art Show: Panhandlers of Harvard Square

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Hours:	5pm-8pm
Ages:	Adults
In/Outdoor:	Indoor
Cost:	Free
Category:	Arts & Culture

The Democracy Center is pleased to announce a show by local artist Marc Clamage of portraits of the homeless living in and around Harvard Square.

Working over a period of five years, Mr. Clamage has collected the stories of many of his subjects as well as painting them, and all the paintings and narratives from the complete series will be on display for the first time in one location.

Panhandlers of Harvard Square
Mr. Clamage has chosen the concentrate on the local homeless who make a living begging on the streets of Cambridge and calls the series “Panhandlers of Harvard Square.” The painting were highlighted in a Boston Globe Magazine article in May, 2013.

There are nearly 60 paintings, all on display together for this one time event.
Regarding the pieces, Mr. Clamage said, “I started this project in 2010, at the height of the Great Recession, The panhandlers seemed particularly numerous, particularly young and needy.

As an artist I’m always looking for the chance to paint a portrait, and one day I had a brainstorm: I could fulfill my need to paint and the panhandlers’ need for money by paying them to pose for me. This wouldn’t be a handout, but a fee.

I settled on $10 as the most I could afford to pay—I wish I could pay more—and so far no one has complained. “What began purely as an art project has taken on a cultural, even a literary life of its own.

When a subject wants to tell me her story, I listen, and then write it down.

Each painting therefore comes with its own little narrative, sometimes simple, sometimes complex.

Over the course of the years I have become aware of the continuing sagas, tragic love stories, comic misunderstandings, trickster interactions, mysterious benefactors. “Everyone has a story.

Everyone deserves to be remembered, to be acknowledged to have their existence validated.

I hope I’ve done a little bit to advance that goal.” One Day Show. The paintings will be on display for one day only, Saturday, June 6, 2015, from 5 to 8 pm.

After that they will go on permanent loan to The National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, DC.

All are welcome to attend and in addition to the show representatives from local advocacy groups will be on hand to discuss how you can help make a difference in the lives of the homeless.

Your Help is Appreciated

If you would like to contribute money, time, expertise or food for the opening, your contribution will be gratefully accepted.

Please contact the Democracy Center directly at:

Vero Smith, Director
The Democracy Center
45 Mt Auburn Street
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 492-8855
info@democracycenter.org

WEBSITE

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www.facebook.com/events/1633854910160892/

LOCATION

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45 Mt Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138 map
Phone: 6174928855