The Esther M. Klein Art Gallery is pleased to announce the premier exhibition of its new "Art & Community Series". This new exhibition series will feature the artwork of small, independent community centers and grass roots organizations that use art to positively effect neighborhoods and communities throughout the Philadelphia area. Not unlike some of the city's high-profile nonprofits such as Project H.O.M.E and the Village of Arts & Humanities, these smaller organizations work in marginalized neighborhoods making similar efforts to enhance the lives of their constituency. These organizations are neighborhood specific and each one offers a very unique and unfiltered glimpse into the life of our city.

This first Art & Community Series exhibition will feature the art of Coalition Ingenu, a small, nonprofit organization that uses art to positively effect the lives of marginalized Philadelphia citizens with histories of homelessness and mental illness. Coalition Ingenu "works with mental health centers and support systems, homeless shelters, and rehabilitation programs to promote and encourage creativity as a means to psychological and emotional well-being; and to create a complete system for the recognition of outstanding expressions of creative energy by self-taught artists marginalized by extraordinary circumstances."

The Klein Gallery invites you to explore the links provided below. These will give a more comprehensive account of Coalition Ingenu's efforts.

Also, please click on each artists' name to view more artwork and read a short artist biography, written by Robert Bullock, Director of Coalition Ingenu. It is important to note that while these artists all operate under extraordinary circumstances, it is not their circumstances that are the focus of this show. This exhibit aims to draw attention to Coalition Ingenu and its mission to promote the extraodinary and individual creative visions of the artists who have become part of the Coalition Ingenu family.

Coalition Ingenu Statement
Coalition Ingenu Mission

Click on artists' name for more images:
Vanise Clay, John Goffigan, Joe Johnson,
David Kime, Ron Lellis, Walter Oates, Jr.