Last night, over 50 members of the Rockford community came out to share their stories of living in Rockford. Located at the Fairgrounds Valley Community Center, the event offered an opportunity for public housing residents, Rockford Housing Authority employees, and the broader community to connect through objects and anecdotes.
This was third iteration of the Telling Stories, Telling Belongings programming, yet this was the event’s Rockford debut. The event featured stories about a spatula, a candle, a phone, an egg timer, and even a newborn! Together the diversity of stories and the wealth of perspectives in the room enhanced the free-flowing atmosphere of the space and the informal interactions among guests.
Rockford Housing Authority would like to thank everyone who helped make last night a possibility, especially the National Public Housing Museum, the Rockford Area Arts Council and our residents who came to share. Our work here will be the focus of a National meeting this summer in Portland, OR and will again bear focus in August at the State of Illinois NAHRO meeting here in Rockford.
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- An event participant, Takisha Ellis shares a candle and explains why it is important to her.
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- A local teacher shares her “object” Ce-Ce, a student she mentored at a Rockford area high school.
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- Daniel, from the National Public Housing Museum
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- A young woman shares her story with Daniel.
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- Getting silly at “Telling Stories, Telling Belongings.”
