We landed in Georgia on the night of the big game. We were there to work with University Extension Agents to help them articulate and tell the story of how they had made an impact in their communities. Needless to say, the mood the next morning was pretty enthusiastic, as UGA brought home the national championship. Go Dawgs! They had been waiting 41 years, after … Continue reading Georgia
The day before the tragic storm in Kentucky, we were working with Extension agents at a statewide conference in Lexington. Extension programs are a division of land grant universities and their goal is to educate entire communities. These folks are charged with integrating the research of an institution into the day to day lives of the state’s residents. Extension agents offer nutrition programs in rural … Continue reading Kentucky
A Peace of My Mind set up our studio for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program at the University of Minnesota and asked, “How is Dr. King’s legacy crucial and relevant today?” Continue reading MLK Center
A Peace of My Mind set up our studio for first generation students at the University of Minnesota and asked, “What will graduating from college mean to you, your family, and/or your community? Continue reading U of M – First Generation Students
Last month we spent time at JRG Middle School in Kimberly, Wisconsin. It was one of the first large in-person programs we have done since the pandemic started and it was good to be with them. A Peace of My Mind is rooted in story gathering, but also in storytelling. So being in community and using these stories to build connections is a key part … Continue reading Support
We all carry wisdom on this journey. I’ve heard some of the most profound stories from people who have said, “Oh, you don’t want to talk to me…I don’t have anything special to say.” We gather little bits of knowledge as we bump along the road of life. In some weird twist of fate, sometimes the rougher the path, the more we learn. And since … Continue reading Project Sanctuary
We spent a few days with the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center, a resource hub to help connect people with services and resources around housing security. We set up our studio and asked, “What do you want people to know?” The goal is to craft an answer that is 25 words or less, so that the text fits on the person’s portrait. But of course there … Continue reading listen
A Peace of My Mind visited Oxford, Mississippi’s country courthouse, where a contested Confederate statue stands at the center of the town square. We asked people, “What does this statue mean to you?” Over two afternoons, 36 people chose to participate and these are the stories they shared. Continue reading Oxford, Mississippi
Last week we set up a studio at a plaza in Nogales, Arizona, about a block away from the border wall. We asked people, “How has the wall impacted you?” The first person to stop by was Claudia. She was from Mexico, but had her U.S. residency and lived and worked in Nogales, Arizona. She had married Emanuel three years ago and his immigration process … Continue reading A simple question
Public projection from John Noltner Photography on Vimeo. For 10 nights, we projected the stories we gathered from the George Floyd memorial. We amplified the voices of the people we encountered. We projected their portraits 20’ x 30’ on the side of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. And we climbed down off the rooftop to have conversations with the people who stopped to look. … Continue reading I can hear the streets talking
