Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

Watch Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell (2016), a film that follows Erin Blackwell, one of the most memorable subjects of Streetwise (1984), a groundbreaking documentary on homeless and runaway teenagers in Seattle, Washington. In Streetwise, by filmmaker Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall, Erin Blackwell, a.k.a. Tiny, is introduced as a 14-year-old living precariously on the margins of society. Now a 44-year-old mother of 10, Blackwell reflects with Mary Ellen Mark on the journey they’ve experienced together—from Blackwell's struggles with addiction to her dreams for her children, even as she sees them being pulled down the same path of drugs and desperation. 

Pieranna Cavalchini, Tom and Lisa Blumental Curator of Contemporary Art at the Gardner, will introduce the film and give insight to the exhibition Mary Ellen Mark: A Seattle Family, 1983-2014.  

The runtime of this film is 88 minutes. 

Mary Ellen Mark: A Seattle Family, 1983-2014 is supported in part by the Ford Foundation, Amy and David Abrams, and the Barbara Lee Program Fund. 

The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which is supported by the state of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.