In July of 2019, ICS was in residence at the Prattsville Art Center (PAC), an innovative community center and art project bringing together artists and residents to rebuild the town that was devestated by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The Art Center, located in rural upstate New York, features music, lectures, films, workshops, auditions, dinners, exhibitions and other community-building events.
Guided by the ICS mission to document granular history--moments in ordinary lives that get lost over time--the goal of the residency was to begin a longer term project based on some aspect of Prattsville history. Prior to the residency period, I conducted research into a random sampling of Prattsville citizens living in the area in the early 20th century. Over several research trips to the Catskills, I spent time at the Greene County Historical Society and the Zadock Pratt Museum, learning more about the area’s history and the Prattsvillian subjects of my investigation. Using this information, I created family files for each individual that included any research material I found as well as drawings of the citizens’ family trees and timelines based on data from genealogical websites. With generous support from folks at Prattsville Art Center and Zadock Pratt Museum who connected me to community members, the residency period was spent meeting with descendants of these families, most of whom can trace their lineage back in the region for generations.
During the residency I held "open office hours" when visitors to PAC were invited to engage with the project through conversation and sharing of stories, interactions that are a vital, though ephemeral, component of this artwork.