Life Through The Lens Of Homeless NJ Photographers: GALLERY

Newark, NJ – What does life look like when you’re homeless?

Finding out the answer to that question was the goal of a powerful new art exhibit, “We Are Forever: Images Through the Eyes of Homeless Photographers.”

During the 10-week effort, the project’s organizers gave cameras to several of Newark’s homeless residents and asked them to “express their world through photography.”

The results make for a thought-provoking and heartfelt exhibit, according to founder/editor-in-chief of HYCIDE magazine Akintola Hanif, who conducted the effort through local nonprofit Bridges Outreach with a grant from the Newark Arts Council.

“For me, this was more than an exchange of photography skills… this was an exchange of love,” said Hanif, who trained participants about photography techniques for six months prior to the project’s inception.

“[The] photography program has been my most humbling and fulfilling experience in my entire career as a photographer,” Hanif said. “I don’t see my students as homeless people. I see them for their hearts and intentions, and that is the place we connected from.”

"We Are Forever" is a poignant reminder of the importance of local outreach efforts in a New Jersey county (Essex) that may have the most homeless residents in the state.

• See related article: Report: Essex County Has The Most Homeless Residents In New Jersey

The collected photographs will be on display as an exhibit titled “We Are Forever: Images Through the Eyes of Homeless Photographers,” which can be seen until June 11 at Gallery Aferro, 73 Market Street, in Newark, NJ.

Learn more about the project here.

See more photos and purchase prints here. (Proceeds will benefit the photographers, organizers say.)

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photos courtesy of Bridges Outreach / Akintola Hanif

Photos by Roscoe Moses, Phil Lee, Sarah Van Allen, Scottie Howard