Published December 2025
In this episode of In the Making, we bring together two artists whose work confronts one of the most overlooked realities of modern life: homelessness.
Photographer Leah Den Bok, known for her project Humanizing the Homeless, creates intimate portraits and stories of people experiencing homelessness across North America. Her work seeks to challenge stereotypes and remind viewers of the dignity and humanity behind every story.
Artist Willie Baronet has spent decades collecting and exhibiting handwritten signs purchased directly from people experiencing homelessness through his long-running project We Are All Homeless. These signs, often encountered briefly on street corners, become powerful installations that invite audiences to confront their own assumptions. The two artists first connected after Willie saw Leah’s work featured on television and immediately recognized a shared purpose. Their eventual collaboration brought together photography, installation, and even musical performance through partnerships with community artists and choirs.
In conversation with Dawson, Leah and Willie reflect on the responsibility of working with vulnerable communities, the importance of permission and trust when telling real stories, and how art can create moments of connection that statistics and headlines often fail to achieve. Rather than trying to persuade audiences through argument, their work invites people to slow down, look again, and recognize the humanity in lives that are too often overlooked.
Themes in this episode
- Art as Compassion
Both artists use creative practice not simply to document homelessness, but to foster empathy and connection. - Collaboration Across Mediums
Photography, installation art, and music intersect as Leah and Willie explore new ways of telling human stories. - Humanizing the Unseen
Their work challenges viewers to reconsider how society perceives and responds to people experiencing homelessness. - Responsibility in Storytelling
The conversation explores the ethical considerations of documenting real lives and ensuring subjects retain dignity and agency.
“It’s about raising awareness and compassion and humanizing a population that’s so easy to look away from.” — Willie Baronet
From the Archive
This conversation was originally recorded during the early phase of the podcast when it was known as RATT – Rebel Artists Through Time. It remains part of the Piperlime Studio archive and is now presented within the In the Making series.
Credits
Host: Dawson DeGraaf
Producer & Creative Director: Michele Mauviel
A Piperlime Studio podcast
Follow / Connect
Piperlime Studio: @piperlime.studio
Host: @dawsondegraaf
Humanizing the Homeless: @humanizing_the_homeless
We Are All Homeless: @weareallhomeless
Willie Baronet
Willie Baronet is an American artist and educator whose long-running project We Are All Homeless began in 1993. Over decades, he has purchased thousands of signs directly from people experiencing homelessness and transformed them into powerful art installations and exhibitions.
Through documentary film, public exhibits, and lectures, Willie’s work invites audiences to reflect on how easily people experiencing homelessness are ignored, and how art can help restore dignity and visibility to those stories.
Leah Den Bok
Leah Den Bok is a Canadian photographer and the creator of the internationally recognized project Humanizing the Homeless. Beginning the project as a teenager, she has spent years traveling across North America creating portraits and sharing the personal stories of people experiencing homelessness.
Through exhibitions, books, and public speaking, Leah’s work seeks to challenge stereotypes and encourage deeper compassion for those often overlooked in everyday life. Her photographs have been featured in galleries, publications, and public installations across Canada and beyond.
From the Archive
This conversation was originally recorded during the early phase of the podcast when it was known as RATT – Rebel Artists Through Time. It remains part of the Piperlime Studio archive and is now presented within the In the Making series.