Introducing: Stories of Home

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Last summer the Lincoln Arts Council announced its search for families to feature in its unique public art project — Stories of Home.

Stories of Home pairs local visual artists with Lincoln area families. Over seven months the families share their stories and their lives with the artist, who then transforms these images into some visual artistic format depicting the families’ stories. Each art piece must fit in a 48x24x36-inch crate and not weigh more than 80 pounds.

Philadelphia artist Pepon Osorio is the project’s artistic director and inspiration. Years ago, Osorio created a tabletop installation called “Tina’s House,” reflecting the story of a single mother and her two daughters, who lost their home to a fire.

Rose Ann Dowty, a Lincoln Arts Council Board member, saw “Tina’s House” in the PBS series “Art21 — Art in the Twenty-First Century”and thought something similar could be done in Lincoln as a community art project.

Thus, Stories of Home was born.

Artists and families have been working together since October. The artwork will be completed in May. Pieces will go on display in public settings as well as in small receptions in the homes of the participating families.

Over the next 12 weeks, Hubbub will introduce each of the families whose life stories are being transformed into public works of art. You will meet families who have come to Lincoln from points across the globe; families who struggle with a variety of issues; multiple generations of family, whose stories tell of intense love, dedication and perseverance; diverse families who may look different or live differently from you and me, but by looking within the walls of their homes we can see they are very much like us — they are families.