Client: Kollaboration Atlanta
Project Duration: January 2021 – June 2021
Role: Creative Director
Description:
MEND is a digital creative placemaking project led by Kollaboration Atlanta that sought to strengthen and restore a community worn down from a wave of anti-Asian hate and a period of social isolation. This project threads the stories, memories, and artwork of 58 Georgia AAPI community members scattered throughout the suburbs of metro Atlanta into one cohesive art piece. The 58 participants lived in 10 counties, were 18-74 years in age, and represented 23 AAPI identities.
Collaboration was a key part of the project design and implementation. We hosted a community brainstorming session and worked with several community organizations and stakeholders to create a project aligned with their values. We used a visual collection form, translated in Korean and Japanese, encouraging participants to submit a visual representation of their identity, values, or experience. These visuals were used to inspire a final art piece created by Ting, a local artist whose work is inspired by their experiences navigating the world as a second-gen, Teochew, nonbinary person.
Although creative placemaking projects are generally tied to a physical location, this project was conceived and built for the shift to life online and therefore has no physical component. However, we found that bringing people together virtually around the creation of MEND resulted in similar impacts to traditional creative placemaking projects in addition to notable benefits such as fewer barriers to entry, greater community reach, and multiple points of engagement.
Ellie Ayane 