For Immediate Release: 4/21/2021 4:24 pm
The City of Worcester’s Cultural Development Division and the Worcester Cultural Coalition will publicly unveil the I Am Worcester photo project on May 8, and are inviting the public to take part.
I Am Worcester began collecting portraits and stories of Worcester locals in early 2020, with the goal of hosting public displays later that year. The pandemic altered those plans, but starting this 508 Day – May 8 – the I Am Worcester project will be on public display at the Worcester PopUp at the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC) and on the I-290 Exit 15 off ramp on Shrewsbury Street.
Worcesterites are invited to join the I Am Worcester project at the JMAC on May 8. Advanced registration through Eventbrite is required to ensure physical distancing can be observed while photographer Matt Wright captures portraits outdoors in Allan Court. Participants may also share their Worcester Story in advance through a Google Form. The I Am Worcester exhibition will be on display inside the Worcester PopUp at the JMAC May 8-20.
The I Am Worcester team is also looking for volunteers to help install over 160 large-scale posters outdoors on the I-290 Exit 15 off ramp on May 5, with a rain date of May 6. No special experience is necessary; volunteers can sign up for one-hour shifts to hang posters, mix paste, or align the posters on the ramp. Advanced registration through Eventbrite is required to take part in this public installation.
“I Am Worcester is a true testament to the rich range of cultures, outlooks and perspectives which make up our city,” said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “This project is a celebration of our community’s diversity and creativity, and I encourage people to take part on 508 Day, and remember, we are all Worcester.”
“We’ve been joined by an infant and a World War II veteran, people who recently immigrated to the US and people who’ve never lived outside Worcester, and occupations from students to retired, doctors and laborers and teachers, and those searching for their path,” said Yaffa Fain, project manager of the Cultural Development Division. “Despite all the differences we might perceive between the individual subjects, each shares the commonality of calling Worcester home, and it’s been quite moving to see how differently we each connect to the same place.”
Links:
• May 5 I Am Worcester installation volunteer signup: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-am-worcester-installation-volunteer-registration-registration-149947086773
• May 8 I Am Worcester photoshoot registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-am-worcester-photoshoot-registration-149940300475
• Share your Worcester Story: https://forms.gle/BF3yugne5f9JyoCZ9
• Current I Am Worcester display online: http://www.worcesterma.gov/i-am-worcester and https://www.instagram.com/iamworcester/
