If you had the chance to tell a story through a different medium than language, would you? One Haddonfield resident took the chance, and shared the story of her experience through the houses of Haddonfield.
Haddonfield’s Sarah Ng is one of a group of print designers from Anthropologie who created a personal artistic story in the exhibition called “A Print Story.” Ng’s story is called “Home” and features paintings of houses in Haddonfield. All of the pieces are for sale, and proceeds from the exhibition go to the non-profit Arts Sphere Inc., a charity based in Philadelphia. The exhibition is at Gallery 543 in Philadelphia until July 20.
“I enjoyed creating something so different of my normal medium, and that it was a nice thing to do all together (with my coworkers) … But the whole point of the exhibition is to bring awareness to the charity,” Ng said.
Art Sphere is a non-profit established to teach art to inner-city low-income youth. Its mission is to engage the creative in communities, empower neighborhoods to explore the positives in people’s lives, and heal the mind, body and spirit through art.
“I know there are some people in the community who don’t have English as a first language, and it is just really nice that they can all do together that connects them and is not something you have to understand really,” Ng said.
According to the exhibition flyer, “A Print Story” is an autobiography told with print, expressed through the lens of a single color palette.
Ng’s biography begins in London, England, where she grew up. Since she was young, she has had a special talent for art. She went to a specialized arts boarding school and then to the Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London, earning a bachelor’s degree in fashion design.
She and her husband moved to America for work and lived in Texas, and then Philadelphia before finally settling in Haddonfield two years ago. Since then, she has absolutely fallen in love with the town.
“I feel like Haddonfield is such a special place. Coming from England, when we first moved to America, I was shocked by how everything was mass produced in a way … I guess why we fell in love with Haddonfield is the town is so quaint and the architecture is so unique and beautiful,” Ng said. “I really love Haddonfield, and the last two years have been amazing, and the neighbors are amazing, so I really wanted to paint it.”
She went around her neighborhood, near West End Avenue, and took pictures of houses to paint. Having not painted in almost 10 years, Ng wasn’t sure how things would turn out.
She first did the houses, as is, within the color palette for the exhibition. However, she thought the houses felt empty, so she added people to them to bring them to life. She also added different floral patterns to the houses, her inner print designer kicking in.
“I feel like the family and people that live in it are really what makes the house,” Ng said.
Ng enjoyed the process of painting and was really happy with what she produced. Her final product features nine paintings of Haddonfield’s unique houses. One of her favorite pieces was of her neighbor’s house with her neighbor’s daughter and dog out front.
Ng’s as well as her coworkers’ works can all be found at Gallery 543, Building 543, 5000 South Broad St. in Philadelphia until July 20. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with lunch hours from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The pieces are for sale and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to Art Sphere. Ng hopes those who visit, even if they don’t buy a piece, consider donating to the non-profit. To donate to the charity or to learn more, visit artsphere.org.
Ng enjoyed painting the houses of Haddonfield so much that in the future she believes she may continue to paint houses in Haddonfield.
