AMFM Summer Fest 2018!

We’re teaming up with The Bakery Atlanta’s project Southwest Atlanta Community Road Map: Macro & Micro Histories for the first ever Art on the BeltLine’s AMFM Summer Fest! Look for us on the front porch of The Bakery! We’ll be recording and live broadcasting stories of the neighborhoods surrounding the festival, and we want to hear from you! We’re also going to be starting the community asset map component of the project, so pop on by to contribute your input!

Tune into the ENTER THE BUCKY DOME ZONE‘s internet radio station from 6-7pm Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (8/9, 8/10, 8/11).

About AMFM Summer Fest
Art on the Atlanta BeltLine, in collaboration with the National Black Arts Festival NextGen Youth Program, ARTlanta Gallery, and The Bakery Atlanta, presents the inaugural A.M.F.M.(Art. Movement. Film. Music.) Festival. The four day festival includes art exhibitions, chalk art festival, interactive installations, demonstrations, artist markets, film screenings, keynote speakers, food trucks, and a “BeltLine After Dark” adults-only concert series. Everything is free and open to the public!

 

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Audio recording with Janice Hall Keyton

Here’s another recording. This time a sweet one with Janice Hall Keyton interviewed by Stewart Center campers at Ariel Bowen Memorial United Methodist Church on July 11, 2017.

The girls ask Ms Keyton about her first job and what her summers growing up were like. Ms Keyton talks about the etiquette and dance classes she attended at Pittman Park that would lead up to fancy balls! She also talks about the talent shows that the park used to host as well. How about we bring those back?! Talent shows and balls at the park!

Image credit: https://www.arielbowenumc.org/our-gallery

Guided Walking Tour of Pittman Park with Mr Doug Dean

A couple of weeks ago, we took the journalism after school program students from The Kindezi School at Gideons Elementary on a walking tour of Pittman Park! We learned about the history of the park, how it has changed over the years, significant athletes that used to train there, and the people that made the park possible!The participating youth made the recordings and photographs!
Big thanks to Joy Pope who facilitates the after school program through The Andrew P. Stewart Center.

 

 

Audio recording with Mr Larry and Mrs Mary Phillips

Another recording from last summer’s Stewart Center Camp at Ariel Bowen Memorial United Methodist Church! This one is with Mr Larry and Mrs Mary Phillips. Here they talk with the campers about growing up in Pittsburgh: the weekend canteens in Pittman Park, May Day celebrations at Crogman Elementary, and the best chicken in Atlanta. Enjoy!

Audio recording with Joyce Cullins

Finally! Another recording from this past summer’s camp at Ariel Bowen United Methodist Church run by the Stewart Center!

We’ve got a pretty big backlog of audio recordings, so bear with us while we get them edited and up for you!

This one is with Joyce Cullins who grew up in the neighborhood and is a member of the Ariel Bowen congregation. She talks with us about being named Miss Pittman Park, going to the Merita Bread factory, and more!

EVENT! Sharing Pittsburgh Histories: Who’s got a story to tell?

We’ve been talking about changes that are happening soon in our neighborhood. Something that comes up often is how to keep Pittsburgh’s history alive and present. One way we can do that is share stories and memories with each other, so that we keep them in our present.

What are the stories that you want the neighborhood to remember? Come to “Sharing Pittsburgh Histories: Who’s got a story to tell?” and contribute your stories and memories to a living archive of the neighborhood! These stories will be archived through The SWATL Oral History Project and will serve as inspiration for the public art project “Where the Heart Is: An Artistic Examination of Home.”

Bring your friends! Bring your family! Snacks provided!

Saturday, April 28, 2018, 3-5pm
Pittman Park Recreation Center, 950 Garibaldi St SW, ATL 30310

“Sharing Pittsburgh Histories: Who’s got a story to tell?” is organized by The SWATL Oral History Project and WonderRoot. The event is funded in part by The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

For any questions and/or concerns,
email: swatloralhistory@gmail.com
phone: (630)390-9875.

The event can be found on social media platforms, so share widely!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/241514536394537/
NextDoor: https://nextdoor.com/events/2038100/

 

Where the Heart Is: An Examination of Home – a WonderRoot project

I have been tasked with heading up the community engagement aspect of WonderRoot’s public art project Where the Heart Is: An Examination of Home that specifically focuses on the Pittsburgh neighborhood and resident experiences. The goal of the project is to “support Pittsburgh residents as they reclaim their public spaces and the stories that are attached to them.”

The Request for Proposals will be sent out soon, so there will be more updates in the coming weeks!

Project Vision: Amplifying the Beauty of Pittsburgh
– To support and build community conversation and collaboration amongst Pittsburgh residents
– To support the Pittsburgh community in making the neighborhood beautiful through a series of imaginative, community-centered public art projects
– Youth-led documentary projects about the powerful histories of Pittsburgh

Ways to Get Involved
– Join the Community Working Group
– Share stories about Pittsburgh landmarks, events, and people
– Attend a Where the Heart Is community event

Get in touch!
– Together with the Where the Heart Is project, we’ll be hosting a story circle event on April 28, 2018 at 3pm at Pittman Park!
– We’re also looking for interested community members to join with working group! The task of the working group will be to review the public art proposals and choose the artist’s project!

For more details please email swatloralhistory@gmail.com

WonderRoot is an arts organization that works to improve the cultural and social landscape of Atlanta through creative initiatives and community partnerships.

 

Pittsburgh Yards Groundbreaking Celebration!

This past weekend, March 10, 2018, was the groundbreaking celebration for the Pittsburgh Yards development project – It’s been a long time coming and now it’s officially begun! There was such a good turn out with incredible energy. Joyce Shepherd, our district councilperson gave a talk, as well as the project head organization Annie E Casey Foundation’s Ryan Chao. Oh! And Mr Doug Dean and me got up there and said a few words about what the Art & History Committee has been up to. I showed a video there too, which I’ll post soon.

At the event, The SWATL Oral History Project set up the ENTER THE BUCKY DOME ZONE project to record community members’ stories while the Annie E Casey Foundation recorded stories of the future for StoryCorps. The plan is for all of this material to influence the design of the first building going into construction and set up a way to incorporate the history into the whole of Pittsburgh Yards. This material is also going to be used as inspiration for WonderRoot’s public art project, Where the Heart Is: An Artistic Examination of Home in Pittsburgh, slated for this upcoming summer.

Not only did we get great recordings with the help of fantastic volunteers, but Pittsburgh Yards also got some press coverage!

• J. Scott Trubey, “Project set to rise along future southern Atlanta Beltline Trail, myAJC (Mar 12, 2018)
• Kai Beech, “Construction underway for Pittsburgh Yards mixed-use development,” CBS 46 (Mar 11, 2018)
• “Groundbreaking for project that’ll bring new life to neglected Atlanta,” WSB-TV (Mar 10, 2018)
• Michael Kahn, “Along Southside Beltline corridor, huge project aims to foster neighborhood businesses, Curbed Atlanta (Mar 12, 2018)
• “Pittsburgh Yards Mixed-Use to break ground March 10,” What Now Atlanta (Mar 10, 2018)

Oh yeah, and the firefighter recruits helped us take down the dome! Big THANK YOU to them!

 

“There’s Something About Summerhill” exhibition

A couple of weeks ago (Jan 11, 2018), I attended the reception for Richard Laupus’s exhibition There’s Something About Summerhill at Georgia State University. The photo-storytelling project presents residents of the ATL neighborhood Summerhill with their portraits and excerpts from oral history recordings Laupus made with them. Part of Laupus’s larger project The Storyteller Project, the goal of the work is “to capture, preserve, and honor the stories of long-time residents” of historic Black communities, Summerhill being one of them.

[Left to Right: Catherine Robinson with her portrait & oral history excerpt; display case of donated artifacts & memorabilia, Ronny Hestor portrait & oral history excerpt; installation view of There’s Something About Summerhill with quote from featured Summerhill resident Wilbur Yancy; Tommy Usher portrait & oral history excerpt]

Be sure to check out The Storyteller Project’s website to view video interviews with the featured residents!

Oral History Recording with Mrs Brenda Dean!

In this recording, the Stewart Center campers interview Mrs Brenda Dean who grew up in the neighborhood. Her parents did too! Her parents, Prince and Mary Martin, were also pillars of the community. Her mother, Mary, started a beauty salon in their home which then moved into the upstairs floor of the building named after her father, the Prince Martin building, on McDaniel Street. Mrs Dean herself went to cosmetology school and is still at it in the same building!

Along with Mary Martin’s Beauty Shop, The Prince Martin building also housed Mayfield’s Barber Shop, Jabo’s Laundry and Cleaners, and a restaurant.