the project
cast your mind back and reminisce upon your joyous moments held in northeast rochester, ny-the formative experiences tied to spaces and community that have since been lost
telling our story is on a mission to collect the stories of those who lived/worked in northeast rochester between the 1950’s-1980’s to document the beauty that existed in communities that faded in the wake of the 1964 uprising
the purpose
Prior to Rochester’s 1964 Uprising, Northeast Rochester was home to a myriad of successful small businesses, community organizations, vibrant intercultural ties, tight-knit residential streets, and community gathering spaces. In the wake of the uprising and with the beginning of new “urban renewal” projects, much of what was beautiful about NE Rochester was lost. Businesses closed, people moved to the suburbs, entire residential streets were demolished, leaving any evidence of the neighborhood’s former glory left in the memories of those who lived it.
The purpose of this project is to redefine NE Rochester, bring the joyous moments, diverse community ties, and beautiful spaces back to the forefront, rather than maintaining the current emphasis on loss and disappearance. We hope to help bring beauty back into NE Rochester not only with our physical art installations but also through the digital archive that will allow access to audio/video recordings of oral histories of those who have connection to what once was in NE Rochester.
The Story Stump
The Story Stump will be an art installation covered with a mosaic in the shape of a map of Northeast Rochester. Different areas of NE Rochester will be denoted with different colors, and each of these colors will be assigned a group of QR codes which when scanned will lead to audio/video recordings collected during our “seed and water” story sessions. This will allow joyous stories collected of NE Rochester to be organized and archived by where exactly they took place.
The Story Stump is meant to encourage dialogue via an arts-focused archive “rooted and grounded” in a public place relating NE Rochester’s story of urban renewal and land dispossession that has “disappeared” entire streets, scores of homes and community businesses, and it’s diverse residents from different backgrounds.
Seed & Water
story collection
Led by former 7th ward resident and master storyteller Mama Almeta Whitis, “seed and water” story sessions will be weekly get-togethers between present/former residents of Northeast Rochester, the Locus Focus team, and Dr. Kate Mariner’s Local Ethnography and Archiving Fellows (LEAFs).
Each week, LEAF Fellows will be paired with community members to facilitate oral-memory story gathering interviews. Guided by sample interview questions or their most memorable moments, community members will have the chance to unearth and reminisce upon the joyous experiences, meaningful relationships, and lovely spaces that were part of their life in Northeast Rochester.
Alternative to the group ‘seed and water’ story collection sessions, interviewees also have the option to do their interview at their place of residence, or in the form of an Urban Walk-About. For At-Home ‘seed and water’ story collection, our Locus Focus Team will meet you at your house for your interview session at a date and time convenient for both you and our team! For Urban Walk-About ‘seed and water’ story collection, interviewees have the option to lead the Locus Focus team on a walk through meaningful spaces in NE Rochester while telling stories of these spaces.
These stories will be preserved via audio and video recording to be archived and ultimately embedded in the Story Stump and Tree of Life community art projects.
The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life Panel will be an additional art installation that brings beauty to the site and becomes a background for the Story Stump. The wall will be adorned with colorful mosaics inspired by diverse cultures of the Northeast Rochester community, and the ancient cultures of the Middle East, North Africa, and Latine communities.
In alignment with the Story Stump, there will also be QR codes embedded in the Tree of Life, which when scanned will lead to a digital archive of stories, videos, and images of life in NE Rochester.
