"Booming prosperity accompanying a tremendous increase in the area's population has made Northwest Arkansas

a nationallyrecognized economic success ... A thriving housing market, booming business development and retail
growing faster than nearly imaginable, the once quiet area has been a sea of construction sites for the past several
years. And the results are some of the nicest neighborhoods and shopping venues anywhere. n

- Northwest Arkansas 'Business Journal. March 13'

, 1,'11'11,11

!,' ,"

"Not everyone is enjoying the prosperitY of Northwest Arkansas . .l

- "Quality of Ufe in Northwest ArkansasJ "KNWA. October 29, 2008

It is estimated that on any given

night approximately In August 2007, I began interviews with a sampling of the homeless population currently residing in local Shelters,
m~keshift campsite rar'jsitional housing in Northwest A,rkans~~,. WI~D
8,o~sent of the, intervieW~~~1 ~hle" ,
II"
1,287 te~timonies Were re in their current place of residence using'II'~ig~~uaiity Audio and video e~uipmerlt.' In
total, twenty-seven testimonies were collected. Each inte . w has been edited down to a five-minute video
adults and youth in Benton and portrait accompanied by audio testimony which offers a gli into each interviewee's private life. These
testimonies reveal memories and personal meanings as ith the term "home." On a more obscure level,
Washington Counties are the testimonies also offer insight into the fundamental h for security (Maslow's hierarchy of needs)
and psychological consequences experienced as a resutt of ment.

~tl\eseVideo l~s~irnonies'Wili be p~~serttel!l ~S atJp.llin iEi&t~erntilletl The Home/eSs'tProject

beglnming in early 2010. As tl1e project originates in NorthWes ansas and most of the interviews were
£ecorded in Fayetteville, The Homeless ProJectwili be on view at four different locations on the downtown
.Yetteville square from March 1-31,2010. Four 40" LCD flat screen televis.will be mounted on the interior
of foar different storefront sites in downtown Fayetteville and face out towarClS the street through large windows.
Weatherproof speakers, mounted on the exterior of the buildings, will allow viewers to experience the voices of
the interviewees at street level. The project will begin touring regionally in 2010.
'I
i~jli·ll'i'~' . .,1" ,I
''''h''":J. I, I II IIHI. ' I' I,' ",
;;I!illl I'
I
Tnel'nbme/ess 'ProJect examir1eshow territory changes OVer time, ana more specifically addresses how one's
sense of place, security, and ownership is established arid lost. The purpose of this research is to raise social
awareness of the issue of displacement and to encourage an understanding of the commonalities that link the
sheltered and unsheltered by giving a public visual and aural presence to persons whose identities are less
evident.

Benton and Washington counties experience double-digit gro~th ~ates each year, yet from 1990 to 2006, the
II ~e~~~~1age of owner-occupied ~ei.l~ig!il,declined iri NonthY"es~!'l~k~ ).,~~~~~:llar:ldscape of Northwest
Arkansas continues to develop, itis important to address the neeas commUnitY members, especially those
whose presence is less visible. It is my hope that these conversatiOns, presented in public space, will encourage
open dialogues to address the ~ssity for stable and affordable housing amid extensive growth in Northwest
Arkansas. This project also examines how development is affecting individuals within the community and
transforming regional identity as a whole.
- Northwest Arkansas Homeless Census:
A 24-Hour Point-In-Time Count,
! .1 ctlp~munity and Family Ins~iitu!t~
University of Arkansas, 20
The Homeless Project may be seen and heard outside the following
participating venues and locations March 1 - 31, 2010: Fayetteville Visitors
Bureau (21 S. Block Avenue), Opal Fly's Feel Good Lounge (40 E. Center
St.), U.S. Center for World Mission (26 W. Center St.) and East Square
Plaza (1 E. Center St.).
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••.... "7'
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•...•
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".

Funding for this public art exhiMion is provided through the 2009
Community ResearcmAward sponsored by the Jones Chair in Sociology
and Family and Communi\¥ Institute at the Wniversityof Arkansas in
Fayetteville.

Special thanks to Dr. ~evin Fitzpatrick, the ramily and Community Institute
at the University of Arkansas, Kimberty Gross, Pappi Price, Betsy Gross of
Seven Mills, Don Montgomery of the Salvation Army Fayetteville, Stacey
Overfelt of Havenwood, Malen (3ardner 01Youthbridge, Randy Thomas of
Sound Warehouse, Heather Kendrick-Gerlaugh and Lee Ann Kendrick of
The Lighter Side of Dickson, Rowland McKinney of the 540 Film Fest, Dede
Peters of ddp gallery, Foxfire and the gang at Opal Ay's Feel Good Lounge,
John Sewall of the U.S. Center for World Mission, Julie Pennington and
Brian Bailey of the Visitors Bureau, and especially to the resilient men
and women who shared their stories to make this project possible.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
UA_/JiioIDRCo4M;n

Bethany Sprill!ler (b. 1975 WaShington, D.C.) received her MFA in SCUlpture from the
University of Georgia and SA frQ!11Virginia Tech. She has been a Visual Arts Fellow
at the Fine Ms Work Center in Provincetown, MA and a resident at the Bemis Center
for ContemporafY Art in Omaha, NE. Bethany has received grants from the Pollock-
Krasner foundation, MahsasArts Council, University of Arkansas C0mmumty and
Family InstiMe, Iowa AttsCowncil, and 'Center for Digital Technology and Leamjn~ at
Drake University in Des Moines. Selected exhibitions Qfher work include On the
Street Gallery in Memphis, MafYIand Art Place (MAP) in Baltimore, Boston CenteJ for
the Ms, Cr.eativeArts Workshop in New Haven, CT, Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville,
and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Springer is currently an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Arkansas in FayetleviJle~

CO~\MUNITl'& rAl,11L,Y J:\;STITUTl