Hunter Franks, an artist and founder of the Neighborhood Postcard Project and League of Creative Interventionists, is in Macon, Ga., for three weeks using creativity to build community with Knight Foundation support. Photo credit: Hunter Franks.

Ten-year-old Kefa saw a sign that contained the word “party” and she knew just what to do — join in. The sunshine poured over Macon’s Tattnall Square Park as I hosted a Neighborhood Postcard Project Party. The project collects personal positive neighborhood stories from residents and mails them to residents in another neighborhood to break down stereotypes and foster connection. In addition to collecting stories at events, I had partnered with Groundsource, a mobile engagement tool, to collect neighborhood stories via text message and phone. Now those responses were going to be turned into postcards so they could be sent out. Related Links

“Postcards and play connect communities in Macon, Ga.” by Molly McWilliams Wilkins on KnightBlog.org 

“Breaking down social barriers with stories: The Creative Interventions Tour in Macon, Ga.” by Hunter Franks on KnightBlog.org

As her brothers played on the swings nearby, Kefa walked over and said she had seen the sign that said Neighborhood Postcard Project Party and asked if she could participate. She was wearing a pin with the South African flag and a ribbon on it and when I asked about it she said she had visited several years ago. Another one of the participants, Jen, who is a professor at Mercer University, told Kefa she had also been to South Africa and they began to chat about cities they had visited. Kefa and Jen, who normally wouldn’t cross paths, much less find out they had both been to the same foreign country, did just that. Provide a safe, fun, and creative way for people to come together and they will find that they are much more similar than they are different. This is what I’ve been working to create for the past three weeks in Macon.

Members of the brand new Macon League of Creative Interventionists and I transformed a temporary construction wall downtown into a giant chalkboard with the prompt “I love Macon because…,” inviting passersby to add what they love about their city. I watched as a wall that people normally walk by without any thought became a place for people to stop, take photographs, read what others wrote, add their words, and take collective pride in their city.

A few days later, just a few feet down from that wall, I set up a spontaneous outdoor photo booth and photographed and gave out free Polaroid portraits to passersby. In exchange, I collected stories of their first loves, which I later posted next to copies of their photos. This “First Love” installation shows that no matter what we look like we all share human emotions such as love. Reading stories of others’ first loves allows viewers to break down stereotypes and social barriers. Love was a tool I used elsewhere around the city too.

Macon has a high number of buildings that have been abandoned and left looking for love. I painted hearts on some of these houses in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, creating a visual reminder that these houses are loved and still filled with potential. Some of these hearts were even turned into larger messages by local artist Rudy Mendes that read “I [heart] Pleasant Hill.” This is the power of lightweight art in public space; it is approachable so everyone is able to engage with it and co-create their public spaces and their city. Rudy adding to the hearts also serves as a wonderful metaphor for the Creative Interventions Tour in Macon.

As my time here comes to a close, I am excited to see how the people I have met here, and who have formed the first iteration of the Macon League of Creative Interventionists, will expand this work to inspire and enable other Maconites to join in. The same way that Rudy added to the hearts, I know the community here will take the ideas and philosophy I’ve put out there and build upon them, inviting others to join. This is how networks are built, and movements are created — one person at a time.

Ten-year-old Kefa didn’t know it when she joined the Neighborhood Postcard Project Party, but she was helping grow this movement simply by creating a postcard with a story of her neighborhood. She stayed until the sun began to set, outlining the intricate shapes she had added to her postcard and telling stories about her family. I told her to bring them next time.