Being a homeless

Motivation

New York City is a city made up of both prosperity and poverty. The homeless who sleep on the sidewalks of the city are hard to ignore. Their alienation from society and the emotional turmoil felt by those who have just arrived in the city from foreign countries, despite the differences in material life, have a similar relationship.

Reference

This project will show me as a homeless person in various famous spots in NYC (Soho, Nolita, Astoria, and Times Square). Experiencing homelessness as a young Asian female: being ignored, noticed, given a sidelong glance, or even encouraged, builds empathy and a desire to meet the needs of the least of us who live in this city.


Documentation

The first day I was very embarrassed, so I dared not to look at the people who passed by. When the first person who threw some change in my cup, I almost cry out; however, it’s too emotional for me to say thank you. After this experiment, I donate back the money I made to the real homeless which I earn much more than I expected.

The funny thing is when I used the homeless point of view to see the New York City. I started to wonder where is the best corner to beg? Does this place have enough space for people to see me clearly? (Most of the time people will turn back to through some changes)

Result:

  • Day1 in Astoria, hourly pay is $6.384
  • Day2 in Nolita, hourly pay is $11.21
  • Day3 in Soho, hourly pay is $4.2 and a packet of Chipollet chips
  • Day4 in Time Square is $22 -one guys gave me 5 bucks

Overall, I got more money on weekend than weekdays.

Begging in Time Square, Manhattan.

Fifth day in Time Square

Today tons of people coming through, but sometime when kids passed by, I felt that I am the negative sample for them. There are many tourists, so I felt like I am also a tourist spots here. Maybe it’s because of the sympathy of the same race, many Asian people donated money today. One young Asian boy threw some coins quickly and ran away (maybe it’s the first time he gave money to the homeless? He felt some resonance because I am also Asian?). However, a black woman came and talked to me at the end of my experiment. At first I was pretty scared and thought: omg it’s the time I finally meet other nuts or crazy?! But it’s not the case


I can not really tell what kinds of races people are, and I realized that I should do some statistic to support my experiment. Therefore, there is the result: the most donations coming from:

70%

1. White, male, 35–45
2. White, male, 25–35

30%

3. White, female 35–45
4. Black, female 25–35
5. Latino male 25–35
6. Asian, male 25–35
7. White, female 15–25
8. Other I can’t tell…


What I did not expect is I barely see… white, female 25–35 (kind of surprised!)

This is another interesting point with a similar topic. It talks about how people see street musicians in stereotypes, but the different thing is that I actually got more money than I expected.

Case 1: a famous musician play as street performer in subway station.
Case 2: the homeless who actually with a genius voice
Case 3: the attitude of people to homeless

There are some questions cross on my mind, such as: why they are seldom Asian people as homeless? This project extensive more, such as inviting different age/race/gender people to experiment, and see if the result would be different. Or even interview some homeless with their story and life before and after the homeless. Or just consult them like: where is the best place or time to beg? How to write a persuasive sign on the cardboard?

  • Displayed in Zero Boundaries: An Emerging Art/Design/Tech Exhibition
    in New York, USA
  • Displayed in Art center in Jongli, Taiwan