Looking for Home:
A Yearlong Focus on the Work of Mary Ellen Mark
October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018
The Museum of Street Culture, in association with the Mary Ellen Mark Foundation, featured 30 years of Marks' photographs of Erin Blackwell Charles, a.k.a. Tiny. The installation in Encore Park presented a series of curated exhibitions tracing the life of Tiny, a 13-year-old runaway teen when Mark first encountered her in Seattle, Washington in 1983, while Mark was working on a story for Life magazine. After the article was published, Mark continued to document Tiny's life.
Each exhibition was phased in, and depicted different periods of Tiny's experiences on and off the streets between 1983 and 2014, and the obstacles she faced and sought to overcome.
The exhibition was on view outdoors and inside The Stewpot (1822 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201).
Each exhibition was phased in, and depicted different periods of Tiny's experiences on and off the streets between 1983 and 2014, and the obstacles she faced and sought to overcome.
The exhibition was on view outdoors and inside The Stewpot (1822 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201).
October 1, 2017
1983 | Streetwise: Tiny and Runaway Children in Seattle Mary Ellen Mark first met Tiny just before she turned 14. By that point, Tiny had run away from home and begun working the streets of Seattle. Mark formed a strong bond with Tiny and gained her trust and affection. In turn, Mark's respect and compassion helped her to gain access to Tiny's daily life and also to meet and photograph other teens living on the streets. Mark's 1983 photographs show Tiny and her friends full of hope, with dreams for a better life in the future. However, Mark does not shy away from the harsh realities of prostitution, begging, stealing, and drugs that runaway teens face every day. |
January 27, 2018
1985-1999 | Tiny and Her Children When Mary Ellen Mark returned to Seattle in 1985, Tiny was pregnant with her first son Daylon, yet still a child herself. Still on the streets, Tiny was excited to have a child of her own to care for and love, but did not have a plan for how to provide for his needs. In 1989, Mark met with Tiny and discovered that she had become addicted to crack. She documented the difficulties of Tiny's life and stayed in contact with her, returning to Seattle again in 1990, 1993, and 1999. In conjunction with Tiny and Her Children, The Museum of Street Culture is partnering with the Saturday Kids' Club of The Stewpot to present their artworks in an exhibition titled Picturing Homelessness. |
April 14, 2018
2003-2005 | Tiny's Family Life When Mary Ellen Mark visited with Tiny in 2003, she continued to document Tiny's life, focusing on the day-to-day life of her children and her companion Will, whom she had met on a chat line. Mark's photographs show Tiny's children at home, on the couch, taking baths, and playing, and documents the struggles of keeping them in school and sustaining family life. In conjunction with Tiny's Family Life, The Museum of Street Culture is partnering with Junior and Venturing Crews of The Stewpot to present their artworks in the exhibition titled Photography and Social Justice. |
A broad range of programs were presented in conjunction with Looking for Home: A Yearlong Focus on the Work of Mary Ellen Mark, including the screening of Mary Ellen Mark and Martin Bells’ documentary film Streetwise and a public dialogue series, pairing artists and arts professionals with social and human service providers.
Looking for Home was curated by Alan Govenar (Founding Director, The Museum of Street Culture),
Martin Bell, Meredith Lue, and Julia Bezgin (Mary Ellen Mark Foundation).
Exhibition Design: Studio Adrien Gardère
Architects: Oglesby Greene
Looking for Home: A Yearlong Focus on the Work of Mary Ellen Mark was supported in part by Encore Park Dallas, Documentary Arts, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation, The Sister Fund, The Stewpot, First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Moody Foundation, Restoration Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas, and The Jim and Jill Cochran Family Foundation.
Looking for Home was curated by Alan Govenar (Founding Director, The Museum of Street Culture),
Martin Bell, Meredith Lue, and Julia Bezgin (Mary Ellen Mark Foundation).
Exhibition Design: Studio Adrien Gardère
Architects: Oglesby Greene
Looking for Home: A Yearlong Focus on the Work of Mary Ellen Mark was supported in part by Encore Park Dallas, Documentary Arts, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation, The Sister Fund, The Stewpot, First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Moody Foundation, Restoration Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas, and The Jim and Jill Cochran Family Foundation.