Women’s shelters provide safety, stability, and community for those who need it most. The work in these spaces is ongoing and often underrecognized, yet vital.
Gallery Particulier’s mission is to share visual arts in innovative ways with underserved communities. Recently, we brought that mission to a women’s shelter in New York City.
Gallery Particulier Manager Quiana Dumas opened the evening with a group activity. Each woman wrote the name of a woman she admires on a slip of paper. We drew the names one at a time, and the person who had written each name shared why that woman mattered to her. In their words were portraits of women, sisters, godmothers, who had left lasting marks on their lives, alongside the hardships they had endured. Together, these stories built a poignant solidarity in the room.
Children moved easily among the group—babies and toddlers close to their mothers. Young mothers often carry a heavy workload, offering time and energy without recognition or pay. The evening also revealed the care and attention they bring to their children each day.
After the sharing, each woman chose an artwork to hang in the shelter’s living room. All the works were created by New York City artists, many of them BIPOC, which created a natural connection between the artists and the residents, many of whom are also BIPOC. We brought information about each artist and their work so residents could learn about the people and ideas behind the art.
When we arrived, the living room walls were bare. By the time we left, the space reflected the residents’ choices, the work of NYC artists, and a link between two communities.
We thank Janelle Eastman and Peter Endriss for helping us bring the work of Gallery Particulier artists into the women’s shelter.
