Tender Souls was a photography exhibit in SFPL’s Skylight Gallery, highlighting the stories of residents of the Tenderloin neighborhood, which borders the Main Library. From homelessness activists to small business owners to police officers and more, the people in the photos embodied a vibrant sense of resilience and community.

Big, bold block letters in white and black echoed the candor of the oral histories that went with the photos. Quotes and names sat on a background of subtle tone-on-tone textures, created from scans of dry marker scribbles, imparting the unpredictable vitality of street life that the two photographers expertly captured.

Life-size banners brought characters to life, and QR codes accompanied by short URLs allowed patrons to visit a website that hosted audio files of interviews with each featured subject.

Exhibit description

This exhibit highlights the lives of multiple community members through a series of photographs and transcriptions from the Tender Souls Project. Brenton Gieser and Felix Uribe’s photographs reflect the vibrancy, determination, and soul of the Tenderloin community as well as tell stories of extreme suffering, unspeakable tragedy, triumph and redemption, and unconditional love. This exhibition, and the Tender Souls Project as a whole, hopes to provide a platform from which the Tenderloin community can narrate their own story.

In addition to exhibit contents, I designed a full-color postcard and a book list of recommended reading, available for visitors to take home.