Grand Re-Opening for the website/interactive archive for my 1500 Stories project

1500 Stories is a digital storytelling and collaborative art project about economic inequality in the U.S. I first conceived of the project back in 2015 and in the last 5 years, over 700 stories have been contributed to the project. Thank to support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and beautiful work by the Design Action Cooperative, a worker owned design and communications firm, the project has a gorgeous new website designed to give you a sense of widening economic inequality and to humanize that gap through stories. The website features just a few of those 700 stories, in audio, video, text and visual arts formats (with many more to come!) and is a wonderful resource for exploring what it’s like to live at different economic positions in the U.S. In this time of isolation and polarization, this is an opportunity to connect with lives very different than your own!

Make the money meaningful

There are many things I find terrifying about the time we are living through. As someone who has been trying to raise awareness about economic inequality through my 1500 Stories project for years and years now and as someone for whom teaching about inequality is literally my day job, the economic devastation that so many are experiencing, including my own students, is at the forefront of my mind alongside the health risks, suffering and loss of life. I know that everyone is facing different circumstances economically right now. Some of us are suffering more than others during the COVID-19 crisis and will not get the help they need from the stimulus package. And some of us are receiving money even though our income has not been affected. If you fall into this second category, this message is especially for you. During this time of uncertainty we are holding two sometimes contradictory thoughts: how can I protect myself and my family and how can we help people who have been systematically excluded from resources? I think of this as the share versus hoard dilemma and as you can imagine I come down pretty firm on the the share side of that dilemma. While we may be afraid of scarcity, I am asking you to act from your courage and generosity rather than your fear. How can we make the world we want to live in? How can we take care of one another and of the most vulnerable members of our community? In this time of terrible challenge, there is something you can do. I don't know about you but my feelings of powerlessness contribute to my anxiety and I find it very helpful to BE helpful right now because that is what keeps me sane and cuts down on the insomnia that has returned with a vengeance.

I and others are pooling our stimulus checks (or donating anyway if we make too much money to receive a stimulus check) to give directly to folks who are left out of the federal safety net. And we’re working with Sacred Heart Community Service to make it happen. We can make this money meaningful by sharing it with those most vulnerable in our communities. You can redistribute justice by making a donation at https://donate.sacredheartcs.org/COVIDcheck

Please share with others if you feel so moved. P.S. I did the graphic design for this flyer.

In This Together: Working in Silicon Valley, a community gathering on 2/28/19

How can we thrive, and not just survive, in the Silicon Valley?  Join the 1500 Stories Project in partnership with Silicon Valley Rising and the Tech Workers Coalition for an evening of community building around economic inequality in the Silicon Valley.  Come share your work stories, meet others in your community and discover ways to make a difference. On Thursday February 28, 2018 from 6:30-8:30pm in the theater lobby at Mexican Heritage Plaza, we invite you to In This Together: Working in Silicon Valley.  1500 Stories is a collaborative art and digital storytelling project about economic inequality in the U.S. 1500 Stories is honored to partner for this public forum with Silicon Valley Rising, a coalition that works to reduce occupational segregation and income inequality by raising wages and creating affordable housing, and with the Tech Workers Coalition, a coalition of workers and organizers in and around the tech industry working for social justice, workers’ rights and economic inclusion.  Visit 1500stories.org,  https://www.siliconvalleyrising.org/, and https://www.techworkerscoalition.org/ to learn more.  These forums are made possible by support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.calhum.org); views expressed at the forum do not necessarily represent those of Cal Humanities or the NEH.  Contact jennifermyhre@1500stories.org with questions and RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/295751351085449/

This year for Giving Tuesday, help 1500 Stories give voice to economic inequality

If you believe in the power of stories to build empathy across our differences, consider making a donation to the 1500 Stories project. 1500 Stories is a collaborative art and digital storytelling project about economic inequality in the U.S. So, far we have collected nearly 500 stories from people living at different economic positions in the Silicon Valley, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Your donation can help us share those stories with the world! If you aren’t ready to donate, you can still become advocate for the project by sharing the Giving Tuesday campaign within your social networks. Go to:

https://www.givecampus.com/schools/FoothillDeAnzaFoundation/1500-stories

From Strangers to Neighbors: Community Forums on Economic Inequality

How can we thrive, and not just survive, in the Silicon Valley?  Join the 1500 Stories Project and Sacred Heart Community Service for two evenings of community building around economic inequality in the Silicon Valley.  Come share your story, meet others in your community and discover ways to make a difference.  On Thursday October 11, 2018 from 7-9pm in the Learning Center at Sacred Heart Community Service, we will share our experiences with economic vulnerability.  We will deepen the discussion on Thursday October 25 from 6:30-8:30pm in the Visual and Performing Arts Center at De Anza College, exploring our Silicon Valley dreams and doubts.  1500 Stories is a collaborative art and digital storytelling project about economic inequality in the U.S. and is honored to partner for these public forums with Sacred Heart Community Service, a leader in addressing the root causes and consequences of poverty.  Visit 1500stories.org and www.sacredheartcs.org to learn more.  These forums are made possible by support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.calhum.org); views expressed at the forums do not necessarily represent those of Cal Humanities or the NEH.  Contact jennifermyhre@1500stories.org with questions.

Consider the 1500 Stories project for Giving Tuesday

In October, I did a series of workshops for folks in San Marcos CA about economic inequality, on behalf of the 1500 Stories project.  1500 Stories is a collaborative art, digital storytelling and civic engagement project about rising economic inequality in the U.S.  Storygatherers in California have already conducted over 150 in-depth interviews with people from all walks of life, about their struggles and their work and their hopes at different economic positions.  Storygathering has also begun in Wisconsin and Ohio.  Here, you see a socially engaged art piece called the Stacked Deck, which asks participants to think about and reflect on economic inequality as it is expressed through a deck of thirteen cards featuring documentary photography.  The project now has piles of unedited audio and video and is raising funds to edit those stories and make them publicly available on the website and for use at public discussions and forums about economic inequality.  Consider making a donation to the project here, and be sure to choose "Other" in the program box and type in 1500 Stories.  Everyone has a story to share.  Help the project get these stories out.

1500 Stories makes an appearance at the Euphrat Museum of Art

Come see the first artwork to result from the 1500 Stories project on exhibit in the Justice for All? show this winter at the Euphrat Museum of Art from February 1-March 23rd.   For more information about the show, visit http://www.deanza.edu/euphrat/inthemuseum.html. This piece is a collaborative work designed by me using photographs contributed to 1500 Stories by De Anza students as part of a documentary photography project called Visualizing Economic Inequality.  Each pair of images documents an aspect of contemporary economic inequality while the overall design mimics the distribution of population and wealth in the U.S.  Feel free to join us at the reception on February 16 from 5:30-7:30pm.  Learn more about 1500 Stories, or make a donation, at https://1500stories.org/