Now through April 10, 2016, the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park is featuring a solo art exhibition by local artist, Neil Shigley. Shigley’s series, “Invisible People, Invisible Structures” features portraits of San Diego homeless and their living conditions. Shigley, by presenting both portraits and architectural representations together, provides the viewer with an immersive look into the life of a homeless person. As homelessness continues to become more prevalent in California, as well as the United States, all levels of government need to institute creative solutions to mitigate this serious issue. When a person becomes homeless, their existence transcends into the criminal. There is no place where their presence is welcome. On private property, they are trespassing, on public property they are loitering, leaving constant movement one of the few non-criminal states left to them. Recent 9th Circut Court of Appeals decisions found Los Angeles ordinances, attempting to handle their ballooning homeless population, unconstitutional. From preventing homeless from living in their cars or laying horizontally in public spaces, to destroying items left temporarily on public sidewalks, Los Angeles attempted to criminalize homelessness. These ordinances, and other like them, create unnecessary hurdles for people who struggle with homelessness. Imposing criminal sanctions on this population makes transitioning back into permanent housing even more difficult. Visit http://www.sandiegohistory.org/ for more information on Neil Shigley’s exhibition.
