Our Story
How the Gleaning Project was Born
Low-income and chronically underemployed New Yorkers face numerous challenges in overcoming their circumstances. These difficulties often lead to feelings of hopelessness and a lack of self-worth. Just as trash is deemed useless and discarded, the same judgment is leveled on this population – often treated as though their lives have no value.
Having had my heart broken by this untenable situation, I began looking into efforts already underway to serve our overlooked neighbors, and found many private and government-funded organizations focused solely on immediate relief through charity. While I’m not against providing for urgent needs, I believe we cannot stop there. Long-term rehabilitation and development are the necessary next steps.
In 2019, I started the Gleaning Project as a way to do just that. It began as a weekly meeting with a small group, where we worked on making art from discarded materials. The project’s vision emerged from that first experience: to bridge the gap between the community's need for safe, dignified work and the limited options available to them in the traditional job market, from which they are often excluded.
Today, the Gleaning Project hires underserved individuals as artist assistants to help create beautiful works of art. Here, they experience the fruits of their labor, not just in receiving compensation for their work but in the feeling of accomplishment that comes from caring for each other and the environment while making art in the context of a loving community.
The art we produce is metaphorical. Everything is made entirely of “trash”—used shopping bags, plastic containers, aluminum foil, etc. Our work transforms the discarded materials into truthful, evocative, and intricate pieces. By breathing new life into these objects, we hope to encourage our clients to see new possibilities for their own lives.
About the Artist – Noemia Marinho
I am a self-taught visual artist, born and raised in Brazil. Growing up poor in a family that struggled to stay afloat cultivated a thrifty mindset that has found its way into my creative process, as evidenced by the meticulous dismantling and careful use of every last part of the “trash” that makes up my raw material.
My art transforms discarded materials - plastic bags, milk cartons, plastic bottles, and used tea bags - into artwork. My process reflects my Brazilian upbringing and artisan heritage – all of my work is handmade, using techniques like crochet, weaving, ironing, and even baking. As a woman, I spent most of my life relegated to housework under the thumb of a patriarchal upbringing. My artistic process has been my act of resistance—taking the skills gained through a life of unacknowledged service and using them instead for creativity and self-expression.
To learn more and view Noemia’s work, visit www.noemiamarinho.com.