Legends Next Door

I always faced barriers in getting to know my grandparents - language, Alzheimer’s, and finally, death. I never got to ask them anything about their journeys getting to America and making a life for themselves, and I wish that I had. Who were these fascinating family members, and what could their stories have taught me? In this project, I will overcome these same barriers in order to get to know the elders in my Bushwick community and share their humanity and insights with younger generations. I intend to do so in a way that is captivating and playful to inspire dialogue and kinship between disparate groups and therefore make our community stronger.

This project will consist of three phases: first, I’ll sketch and record live interviews with seniors; second, I’ll paint portraits and create a short film from the interviews; third, I’ll showcase at a variety of community venues for different local target audiences. At the end of the project, I will gift the portraits back to the participants, who will hopefully feel appreciated by our community in a new way.

To showcase the lives and knowledge of the seniors who live or attend the senior center in my area of Brooklyn, I will create painted portraits of the participants while myself and a colleague interview them, hopefully opening up some deep wells of knowledge we can then share with younger generations. A goal for this project is to give the seniors a more prominent place within society by showing their stories in a painting, a short film of interview clips, and writings from the seniors at openings held at the senior center and other venues in the area. The multiple venues will serve different demographics, giving those audiences a chance to engage with their senior community.

The project will have five different artists involved, including a painter, a charismatic interpreter/interviewer, a film editor PR copywriter and BTS organizer. The funds will go to artist fees, supplies, transportation costs, and securing venues in the area. The project will take place over 20-25 weeks between May 2025 and October 2025, with one person interviewed per week. Openings will start in October at the senior center. At the end of the project, all the portraits will be given to each of the seniors involved.

The short-term goals are to get the younger generations to spend a little more time with the elders in their life/community and to give those seniors who participate in this project a feeling of joy and excitement by making them the center of attention. Long-term, I would like to get our seniors held in higher regard and to promote a healthier dialogue about our older citizens.

The paintings I am displaying here for this fundraiser aren't residents of the Diana H. Jones senior center in Bushwick. I am showing these as examples of my portrait painting style. As I paint the seniors from the center, I will be replacing the photos with the most recent pieces I have completed. So check back soon and see the progress.

Thank you so much for your help!