With a background in journalism and filmmaking, I am forever fascinated by how people communicate and tell their stories. The ways we talk to ourselves and each other. Language of a moment, words unspoken, of translation, poetry, music, film, the way we organize it for a love letter, for an uncomfortable conversation or to advocate for something/someone we care about.

 

We chose these art forms to start because music brings people together and can offer pain reduction, stress relief, engage memory, and keep your brain and body nimble. Hearing a poem might activate you, make you feel seen, reopen you to love, or remind you to play. Enjoying and creating art is the antidote to loneliness. It is an unabashed craving for connection, a portal, a time machine. Why else do we learn songs and sing them full volume when a moment calls? Have lines from a poem begin to define our experience?

 

What is more human than finding ways to express a feeling, a need, to celebrate a simple or life changing experience? Our project asks: What is language? How does it shape us? How do we share, preserve, celebrate, protect, and create with it? What does it hold?

 

This concept has been ruminating in my mind for years. I chose the payphone because of its powerful associations. For those who are old enough, the object might evoke specific memories. For younger generations who've never touched a payphone, they are a symbol of how rapidly methods of communication evolve. These objects remind us of a time when reaching out required intention and focus. When you had to slow down and deliberately connect with one person. That kind of purposeful communication feels increasingly rare today.

 

I'm also drawn to the sustainability aspect: keeping one more object from the landfill while transforming it and rediscovering the meaning of repurpose.