San Francisco's Walt Disney Family Museum lives up to its name as they commence their fourth annual community access exhibition, opening A Powerful Force: Working to End Homelessness Through Art on September 25, 2019, at their beautiful Presidio space. The exhibition, showcasing a body of work produced by local homeless youth in the SF Bay Area, bases its title on the words of Walt Disney himself: "There is great comfort and inspiration in this feeling of close human relationships and its bearing on our mutual fortunes—a powerful force to overcome the tough breaks which are certain to come for most of us from time to time.”

The Powerful Force exhibition features collaborations by three local organizations with vast knowledge and compassion for homeless youngsters. The non-profit Raphael House, Larkin Street Youth Services, and Youth Spirit Artworks help at-risk youth and their families achieve inclusion and independence by providing career-building skills, educational programs, and safe housing.

“This project is a powerful force because it brings together community organizations that are making a great difference for a population that needs it,” says A Powerful Force curator, Antonia Dapena-Tretter. “Through its global audience, The Walt Disney Family Museum has the rare ability to raise exposure of some of our community’s most vulnerable residents.”

Most of the art in the exhibition was created over a four-month period, with Dapena-Tretter and The Walt Disney Family Museum’s School and Outreach team providing free, on-site educational art programming for participating youth, ages 6 to 25. As the museum told Juxtapoz, "Over 35 students were encouraged to tell their stories and personal journeys through their work—some of which was also created outside of the museum workshops—offering them a platform for self-expression, growth, and connection."

Today, we preview some of the works in the exhibition, with the show running from September 25, 2019-January 6, 2020. And if you haven't seen the fantastic Mickey Mouse: From Walt to the World exhibition, read more here.