OFFCenter Community Arts Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping low-income and homeless people express themselves artistically, said board secretary Rachel Harris-Huffman.
The center avoids a clinical approach. While art therapist interns do come in from time to time, patrons primarily stick to creating art in groups.
Groups are available for various projects, Harris-Huffman said, including card making, knitting, ukulele and guitar lessons, drawing, painting and writing.
“We also periodically do themed shows where we put out a call for artists,” she said. “It’s not juried or anything, so anyone who wants to participate, who has work that fits within the theme, is welcome to come down.”
OFFCenter’s gallery houses the work of between 75 to 100 artists, and the organization’s thrift shop and a frame shop generate revenue for supplies, she said.
The studio takes a 20 percent commission from anything sold, leaving the artists with the remaining 80 percent, she said. Harris-Huffman has even seen people move out of poverty in part due to their artwork – including members of OFFCenter.
“One of our board members and one of the founders of this organization, Sharie Fabian, she herself was homeless and she worked her way up out of that,” Harris-Huffman said. “She’s a perfect example of the kind of thing that can happen to someone when they find an outlet for their frustration or their emotions, or whatever issues their having, and they can work their way out of that.”
OFFCenter co-founder Karen Turner said she agrees with Harris-Huffman’s philosophy of art as a fundamental for emotional release and building a healthy community.
The studio helps people from all walks of life, she said. Working in small groups around specific mediums helps unify people.
“We have all been here long enough that we have seen somebody’s life change from making art, being in the studio, being respected and being encouraged,” Turner said.
Leading a workshop every Thursday, Turner teaches aspiring artists to design unique gift cards from pieces of magazines, books and other paper scraps, she said.
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Much of the art is made from recycled materials or goods, a process that wasn’t exactly popular when OFFCenter opened, she said. However, as the economy slumped and recession swept the country, more people have embraced reusing what is already available, she said.
“I think the whole phenomenon of repurposing has come into its own,” Turner said.
Sherri Gonzales, a cultural anthropology and biology alumna and volunteer at OFFCenter, said her favorite medium is recycled yarn, often from old sweaters. Gonzales unravels the sweaters to repurpose the yarn, much like the yarn-bombed Alibi display in Popejoy Hall.
“Working at OFFCenter, for me, is the idea that art heals, and seeing people come in and make art together despite their socioeconomic status,” Gonzales. “It doesn’t really matter where you stand in our societal point of view.”
Gonzales has been involved with OFFCenter for six years , she said . Since her work is contracted, there have been times when she was working and not working, yet she said she always came back to the studio because she loves the interaction with other people, even if she isn’t speaking to anyone.
“I think that’s really important to a lot of people, because we have people on the fringes of society, homeless people who are kept on the fringes of society because of their position or whatever people think about them, and they have a safe place in here,” Gonzales said. “You have art and you have yourself and you have your community.”
Daniel Barreau, who has been coming to OFFCenter off and on for more than 10 years, said he chose to become homeless after becoming bored with everyday life. At the time, he was living in Minnesota and chose to travel to Albuquerque because of the art community here.
“Art is meditative, it’s very informative and educational because it forces you to use creativity and self-guidance,” Barreau said.
OFFCenter helps provide him with the resources to create different mediums of art, and with the small gallery he is able to display his work for sale, he said. It is one way he earns money.
Barreau said he enjoys going to OFFCenter because it is a place where everyone is equal and the only label that matters is “artist.”
“Especially if it is a mixed community of homeless and people who are housed, it gives them an opportunity to meet in a whole different status,” Barreau said.
Moriah Carty is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MoriahCarty.
