10/28/2020
The Reunion ProjectTM
OUTDOOR ART EXHIBIT
November 5-30th
Bridgewater Town Common
(next to Town Hall, at 66 Central Square, Bridgewater, MA 02324)
Masks and social distancing are required
wheelchair accessible
Greetings,
Even though Covid-19 has had us laying low, the Reunion Project has been carrying on – with all appropriate safeguards for these uncertain times. This has been made possible, in very large part, thanks to two remarkable Directors.
Shari Sweeney, until recently, Director of Programming at Compass on the Bay Assisted Living and Compass Memory Support in Boston, invited me to come back to take photos of 15 new residents who had arrived since I did the Reunion Project there two years ago. For the safety of the residents and for my own safety as well, I took the pictures outside on the front veranda while Shari and her staff and the residents’ families helped record the prompt responses. I remained masked and always at least 12 feet away from each resident.
Emily Williams, Director at the Bridgewater Council on Aging Cole-Yeaton Senior Center in Bridgewater, MA, had secured a grant from the State to do the Project. Students from Bridgewater State University did the interviews of the seniors using Zoom and telephone, and in-person with safe distancing and masks. I took the photos outdoors both at the seniors’ homes and at the Senior Center. The images and prompt responses will be on display at an outdoor installation on Bridgewater’s Town Common in beginning in November. The Common is located next to Town Hall and the address is 66 Central Square, Bridgewater, MA 02324. There will be a gala opening (social distance observed and masks required) on Wednesday November 4 at noon. Rain date Friday November 6.
Thanks to Shari and Emily, and in spite of the curveball the virus has thrown us, the Reunion Project has continued to recognize and celebrate the lives and histories of almost fifty seniors this summer. This was accomplished with the most stringent safety measures determined both by the facility and me so that everyone remained safe and felt comfortable.
Men are now invited to participate in the Reunion Project. The facility can choose whether men and women participate together and have their portraits hang together, or separately in two staggered exhibitions.
If you have been thinking about inviting the Reunion Project to your facility, please know that it can be done outside and at a safe physical distance from your residents. For added assurance I can arrange to be tested before the photoshoot.
Contact names for press release:
Emily Williams: 508 697 0929
Lora Brody: 617 974 6979
TheReunionProject.org uses photography and writing to give seniors an opportunity to reflect back on their lives - who they were as young women and men and who they are now. It also gives them a unique opportunity to address young people about life choices and decisions. Participants come from independent living, assisted living, as well as those in memory care units.
Lora Brody, Boston-based photographer
www.TheReunionProject.org
Affiliated Scholar
Brandies Women's Studies Research Center
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
