In February of 2021, I was invited to help create the Hope Rising Gallery, an initiative of Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts!  A few weekends ago, 40 interviews were displayed in the Boston Common with the hope of creating conversation and connectivity.  Within a mile radius of Park Street are 13 distinct neighborhoods, and we aimed to use photojournalism to produce a live event that promoted connectivity across these neighborhoods, as well as offered connectivity to a local church.  

Through interview, we were honored to hear 40 strangers speak simply on what they hope for in an era of seeming ‘hopelessness’.  The responses found such a common thread of humanity, revealing both the strangeness and comfort in how shared all our longings are.  The interviews also collectively showed just how beautiful the variety of people that fill a city can be!  Chefs, teachers, barbers, construction workers, students, etc.  Faces and stories were given to the masked strangers that the people of Boston pass each day, and the congregation was able to gain a more vivid understanding of the people they are trying to serve! I’m still so honored and giddy about the invitation to use art and shared space to smudge dividing lines, reveal commonality, and humanize the stranger.  There will always be such a simple beauty in listening to our neighbors. 

Viewers were able to scan a QR code and hear the voice recording of the interviewees responses as they observed the gallery!