WE PAUSED!
ARLINGTON, VA
WE-Making is a suite of resources that explores the relationship between place-based arts practices and social cohesion as a means to advance health equity and community wellbeing. This We-Making story is one example of how place-based arts and cultural strategies uniquely contributed to social cohesion and wellbeing in this community. Throughout this story you’ll see terms paired with actions in parentheses (e.g., social capital, collective action, place attachment, civic engagement, self-determination of shared values). This is to denote for the reader how the WE-Making framework was specifically incorporated. Explore the WE-Making framework and resources.
Image credit: Affordable Housing Corporation Inc.
AHC Inc., an Affordable Housing Corporation, has been providing essential services to their residents — whom include: low-income families, immigrants, and people of color. Studio PAUSE, a community space for art and stories run by arstist Sushmita Mazumdar, is located in the Rinker Community Center in AHC Inc.’s Gates of Ballston community. As AHC Inc's resident services team navigated the tumultuous
times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Studio community found ways to connect with their creative selves— desperately trying to make sense of it all—and sharing their stories and art with Sushmita. She wondered if she could help by taking these possibilities, the inspiration, and the hope to others. "What if we shared everything we did when we paused in 2020 with the residents of the apartment community? If they could not come to the studio, as the community center was closed to the public, could we take our stories to them? Could the space become a book? We have made community book projects before but never one this big, for this many people. Still, the pandemic was a unique and terrible thing. This might be when such a project would be most useful."
Studio PAUSE decided to provide additional services that are beyond AHC staff’s capacity, specifically those aimed around social-emotional wellness, healing, and self-care through storytelling and art. Sushmita shared her idea with Susan Davidson, resident services director, AHC Inc. Here’s what she said:
“The coronavirus enforced a pause that none of us were prepared to take. And the effects of this disruption in our routines, in the way we ‘live,’ have been at times devastating. A crisis is always difficult to navigate; an international crisis impacting us all is new territory with no roadmap to follow. Our residents have experienced illness, loss of income, loss of education for their children, and an uncertainty that the future will be brighter. The civil unrest in our country on top of the pandemic only added to the daily burdens of our residents. How do we cope? How do we carry on? How do we thrive in the midst of such uncertainty? The answers are to be found in a realm beyond language, I think. Through poetry, song, art we can all tap into the strength at our core. Our stories of perseverance serve others who are trying to find their way. Our creative expressions can calm others and teach them how to express at a time when many feel numb. There are many examples to be found in this me when ‘We Paused,’ and our families have much to share.”
The cover of the book is made from a hand-painted version of the map of the Gates of Ballston community located in Arlington’s historic Buckingham neighborhood. When folded the map becomes a book and the stories and art are sewn into it.
We PAUSEd!
chronicles the experiences of the Studio PAUSE community as they lived through the many changes and challenges of 2020. Even as “the PAUSErs” could not visit the space of the Studio, they stayed connected, and stayed creative as they navigated the unprecedented times of the pandemic. Told in words and visuals their stories will be shared on the inside pages of the book. They reflect struggles, celebrations, journeys of healing, and inspiring moments of resilience, while highlighting the rich diversity of this community.
We PAUSEd!
is 2020 documented by children and seniors, internationals and Americans, in English, Spanish, and Arabic. The book is filled with opportunities to respond and share through writing, art, coloring, and photos, taking walks, and doing mindfulness exercises. It has 41 stories by 22 contributors ranging in age from elementary school to retirees. The book has many QR codes so readers can enjoy a lot more content and resources.
Copies of the book will be handmade by the Studio community and the public who want to join in, in safe ways. The children in the Gates of Ballston aer care already made their copies and took them home, as did the teens.
