FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ed Flavin
April 1, 2013 (312) 655-7019
CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT/NEWS RELEASE:
Please include in your calendar listings until June 9
CATHOLIC CHARITIES AWARD-WINNING “AFTER SUPPER VISIONS” PROGRAM
HOLDS ELEVENTH ANNUAL PHOTO EXHIBITION
Hungry and Homeless in River North Showcase Photographs
CHICAGO – The Eleventh Annual “After Supper Visions” exhibition will take place on Friday,
June 7 from 5 to 7 PM, and on Saturday, June 8 from 1 to 3 PM at 721 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago. The exhibit features photographs taken by the guests who come to Catholic Charities Tuesday Night Suppers.
The Tuesday Night Supper Program offers a hot meal each week, donated by local restaurants, to 130 hungry and homeless men, women and children who come to Catholic Charities. Many adult guests choose to participate in “After Supper Visions,” a volunteer-driven outreach and enrichment effort started in 2002 at the Tuesday Night Supper Program.
Every year, the guests are given disposable cameras to take photographs of whatever subject matter they find interesting or beautiful in the City of Chicago. Volunteers develop the film, and guests select their best prints for display at an annual exhibit at Catholic Charities. The exhibition, with support from the Illinois Art Council, gives the public the opportunity to connect with those in need on a creative level, while encouraging their efforts to earn income and attain self-sufficiency.
In addition to viewing the photographs at the exhibition, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase note cards and 8x10 prints of the photos displayed. In addition, prints and an assortment of cards are available for purchase online at Visitors can also scroll through the artists’ galleries and learn more about the guests’ approach to their photography. The cost per photograph is $100 plus shipping and handling, with the majority of the proceeds directly support the participating artists.
As a result of the photo sales, some guests have transformed their lives, making security deposits on apartments, paying tuition at community colleges and becoming employed as photographers. A growing number of businesses in Chicago are now joining in to encourage these developments, purchasing prints to use in their office and lobby décor.
Serving the community since 1917, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest private, not-for-profit social service agencies in the Midwest, annually assisting more than 1 million families and individuals in Cook and Lake counties without regard to religious, national, racial, ethnic or economic background.