MARKING TIME
The clock is there to represent time, this long expanse of time, where the same thing has been happening over and over and over again. […] When I created these pieces…I know they were connected to the Breonna Taylor story, the George Floyd story, and the Ahmaud Arbery story.”
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- Makeba Kedem-DuBose
The pandemic put many dimensions of ordinary life on hold. Families grew and changed shape; we welcomed new members and mourned others. While gathering in-person became difficult or impossible, we found new ways to mark important moments— we celebrated and commemorated together, even while apart.
How has your family marked important moments during the pandemic?
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
MELISSA BLOUNT
Melissa Blount is a Chicago-based psychologist, racial justice educator, and artist; her hand-stitched works explicitly engage with racial inequality in home spaces.
MAKER SPOTLIGHT:
ANDREA MARTINEZ
A local aquatics director who had more time on her hands than she was used to during the COVID shutdowns found a deeper sense of community through a return to old hobbies and outdoor spaces. One of her notable projects was a banner she displayed in front of her home thanking essential workers.
UKRAINIAN RESILIENCE PYSANKA
Chicago-based pysanka artist Anna Chychula learned egg writing from her mother, an immigrant from Ukraine. During the pandemic Anna collaborated with community members at the Ukrainian National Museum to create a “Resilience Pysanka” that would be a reminder of community strength, protection, and hope.