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The art show and outreach event 'On Our Feet,' which featured local artists and housing resources, focused on the impact of housing instability on marginalized communities.
The event on February 3 included paintings, photography, education, food, music and shopping for members of the Los Angeles community.
Payasa Tearz, an artist involved in raising awareness of housing issues, and Midcity Mercado, a family operated pop-up, partnered to create the event, collecting submissions since last year.
"Isolation teaches us that we can't reach out to our neighbors to ask for help," Tearz said at the event. "We aim to change that here."
The show comes at a time when housing and tenants' rights have been a focus in local government, with new anti-eviction policies passed by L.A. City Council and COVID-19 protections extended through the county.
Photographer Luis Sifuentes' pieces in the show captured those who called for the original rent protections in 2020.
Pauleen Mendez
@freakyfirme
On Instagram about her piece:
"I’ve been drawing this over and over and over because I [was] never satisfied with the outcome."
"I drew this for the first time in 2020 and have always came back to this, and here we are now. Even though I’m not where I want to be at, this just shows me there’s always room for growth."
Credit: Pauleen Mendez
"It’s something a lot of people out here in L.A. face on a daily basis. It’s either pay the bills or be out on the street," Sifuentes said. "[The pandemic] is still impacting people to this day."
Several arists spoke at the event, including Pauleen Mendez, who explained how special the event was to her – a mother of two who is currently experiencing homelessness.
"I always say it’s the kindness of strangers and friends that’s what’s gotten me through a lot in life," Mendez said on Instagram. "It’s important to show up for each other the way you would want to be shown up for."
Efren Nava
@thefinest.la
On creating his piece:
"I was at a thrift store and I saw a paper stop sign that had a flower on top of it and the word 'war' underneath the 'stop.' I knew I needed to have my take on what I saw then."
"L.A. isn’t all coffee shops and pilates. ... There are some parts that aren’t pretty, so I wanted it to look dirty.”
Luis Sifuentes
@proleroid
On his photos taken at Los Angeles City Hall:
"With lockdowns, a lot of people either worked remotely or, worst case, lost their jobs...and either they pay their rent or starve."
"A lot of people were holding signs like 'food not rent,' and it was definitely powerful."
"It’s important to document this type of movement while it's still alive."
Karmen Huerta
Y Tu Novio? | The Lay Off
On her podcast:
"I think it's important to highlight that art comes in different forms. Especially now, art can be digital."
"I just wanted to talk about my experience because...I'm a young creative, and eviction and a housing crisis doesn't have an age group."
Holos Communities
Holos Communities, one of the organizations that visited the event, displayed some of their affordable, sustainable housing options.
The nonprofit currently houses 750 people, according to their website, creating over 1,300 temporary jobs during construction and operation of their spaces.
For several of the artists, 'On Our Feet' was the first art show where their work has been displayed. One of these, Efren Nava, grew up spending time with family and friends along the street where the show was held. He said he wanted to go straight to the point with the text of his piece, which reads, “Stop Coming 2 L.A.”
“A stop sign grabs your attention right away," Nava said. "I had my friends tag it, and I wrote part of it with dripping paint...because that’s what you see in L.A."
Nava said that while people can have their reasons for coming to L.A., it’s not something they should take lightly. His point is reflected in the photography of Paulo Freire Lopez, and what Lopez says are “people who come in without asking the right questions."
"These are parts of peoples' souls, when we start talking about these beautiful structures," Lopez said, referring to Venice's Fox Theater and the First Baptist Church of Venice in his photographs. "Losing that connection to land and community and memories – it’s traumatizing."
Paulo Freire Lopez
@paulofreirelopez
"We’re a visual society, a visual people. That's what tugs on our cores."
"It's not about me, it’s we. We can only think in terms of we - how do we move as a community, how do we move as civilization? The only civilization I see is when I show up to events like this."
Katie Mejia
@kaeti3
"Beans are a staple in Latin households. I was thinking about that, about what is native, what has been important."
"I saw that in El Salvador they are teaching women how to cultivate and preserve beans in a way that can be passed down to generations."
Art wasn't the only thing shared with the community at the show. Along with music and shopping, with proceeds donated to an emergency relief fund to those experiencing homelessness, there were also local organizations who offer support to tenants.
"When we're organizing, doing our activism, it's not separated from culture," said Alex O'Keefe, a representative from the L.A. Tenants Union. "We are always organizing culture, always relying on the homemade meals of aunties when they invite someone over to talk about their dispute with their landlord."
Karmen Huerta, who submitted an episode of her podcast "¿Y Tu Novio?" to the show, said that education is an important step in helping renters – especially when tenant protections themselves aren't clear.
"I think education should be the first thing," Huerta said. "Often people, a lot of them don't speak English, they need translation, they need people to really guide them through the process."
The organizations included in the event offered information and help to renters – resources that can change housing outcomes. According to Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), an organization that advocates for L.A. neighborhoods, "half of L.A. renters end up evicted because they didn't properly respond to their court summons."
"The reality is, if you're a tenant and you're dealing with the housing systems in this city all the time, you're not actually going out and looking for help from something like a tenants union," said Aracely Jimenez from L.A. Tenants Union.
Beyond what was provided at this show, according to the On Our Feet Collective Instagram, there's a spring event already in progress. During the show, Tearz told the crowd she wanted them to continue to connect and support each other in facing housing insecurity.
"We may not stop it at a policy level immediately, but we can stop it by showing up for each other," Tearz said. "That's how we undo our trauma — by showing a repeated history of showing up for each other."
