Pioneer Square artist, Suzanne Morlock states that “visual arts have a role to play in raising awareness
and inspiring action related to the issue of homelessness”. August 3-5, 2017 she will present her
latest installation referencing homelessness using the overnight count of people sleeping outside
unsheltered as a starting point.
Morlock’s latest installation will be located between 310 and 312 Washington Street, Pioneer Square in a pop-up gallery space on the ground floor of the Tashiro Kaplan Building. The gallery will be open Thursday, August 3 from 6-9pm and Friday and Saturday from 1-5pm.
Two summers ago, Morlock lined an alley popular among the disenfranchised with 3772 paper plates entitled 3772: Yellow Brick Road, signifying the 2015 One Night Count’s identification of the number of people sleeping outside unshelterd. Morlock continued her visuals inspired by the 2016 Count, with 733 more with a 19% rise in those sleeping unsheltered over the 2015 numbers. This installation appeared in a warehouse in Georgetown in conjunction with CoCA’s 35th anniversary extravaganza.
For details of these past exhibitions see below.
Morlock's latest happening that focuses on the stories of those who are or have experienced homelessness
will be on display during the Seattle Art Fair weekend as noted in the above image.
With the recent release of the 2016 One Night Count, in conjunction with exhibitions
35 Live and UN[contained] presented by the
Center on Contemporary Art, Morlock will
participate in a pop-up exhibition on Saturday, March 12, from 6-10pm in Georgetown, as part of the
monthly Georgetown Art Attack. Conceived of as an extra special evening of creativity by CoCA
in conjunction with the Equinox open studios at 6555 5th Ave S. The area will be filled with art,
music and surprise opportunities.
Morlock's installation, sized about 20' x 30', will inhabit a portion of an old furniture factory with
her latest response to The One Night Count. With the Count up another 19% over the 2015 tally, Morlock
has titled this installation 733 more signifying the added number of
people counted as sleeping
unsheltered when the Count was conducted in late January bringing the total to 4505 sleeping unsheltered.
Morlock hopes to inform and inspire viewers to visually embrace the magnitude of this emergency and
to take action. Morlock, working with local groups who support vulnerable populations, will have
available actions for viewers to get involved with. It will take all of us engaging to end this
social tragedy.
All Home
A community-wide partnership to make homelessness in King County rare, brief, and one-time.
Facing Homelessness
Building a new awareness to our relationship to homelessness.
Real Change
Real Change News is a publication of real change.
Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness
Their mission is to work collaboratively to ensure safety and survival for people while they are
homeless, and to end the crisis of homelessness in our region. They conduct the One Night Count every January.
Exploring the space between those who are housed and those who are experiencing homelessness
formed the beginning of my journey in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood. What are
the dynamics? How does someone become homeless and more importantly how does someone find
a permanent home? As I walk the neighborhood, the striking contrasts in the human landscape are palpable.
Each January in Seattle, there is a task force of community members who count, between the hours of 2-5am, the number of people sleeping out in the open, unsheltered (other conditions are also collected). Aptly named the "One Night Count", in January 2015, the number sleeping unsheltered was 3772, a striking 21% higher than the previous year.
This temporary site specific installation entitled, 3772: Yellow Brick Road,
represents the 2015 count through 3772 paper plates
lining an alley. Using an
alley in Pioneer Square as the site, located between 2nd and 3rd Avenues South, beginning at
Yesler Way at the North end,
the installation will run South towards South Washington. The voices heard in the installation are
of brave men and women
who have survived misfortune and
generously shared their stories of homelessness with me to help form this experiential
installation. The full archive of their stories are available below.
I am humbled and offer a heartfelt thanks to all who contributed.
The installation is part of the Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts' annual event, Art of the City Street Fest: celebrating the arts of Seattle through our curatorial lens. The Fest runs 11:00am – 11:00pm on Saturday, August 1, 2015. 3772: Yellow Brick Road is available for viewing for that one day only, Saturday August 1 2015, 11am until dusk.
Visual art can be a powerful force for impacting the minds and hearts of the audience. While
there are on-going discussions in the media and countless organizations offering secular and
religious aid for those experiencing homelessness, often the impact of a strategic art installation
can change the hearts and minds of the viewers in ways other media may not, giving empathy a visual
voice, expanding compassion.
Saturday August 1, 2015
11:00am – 11:00pm
This installation wouldn't be what it is without the powerful contributions from some of Seattle's citizens who are experiencing homelessness. Their contributions, as heard in the installation, are only a small part of their effort. Suzanne necessarily needed to edit their talks for length in the installation. The Internet has no such constraints, she offers here their complete interviews, with only minor editing to remove some extraneous sounds. The views represented here are each their own, they do not necessarily represent the views of Suzanne. Interviews Page
Suzanne is forever grateful for the support provided by these Seattle area organizations and individuals: