What does home mean to you?
Reflections from Dorchester’s community
When you think of home, what do you think about?
What are your favorite places to hang out?
What are your favorite memories of your neighborhood? What has changed?
Is there anything you hope that you could change for future generations?
If any of these questions resonate with you, submit your response below and I will feature it on the project site.
“To get a home means a lot to me, my family and I are living in the shelter since 2016 and finally we got a voucher section 8 and we’re looking for a place to call a home. ”
During this year’s Night Market in Fields Corner, I asked community members to map their neighborhoods from memory— to become DIY cartographers exploring their relationships to their everyday environments. This activity is based on psychogeography, a practice that is part political ideology part artistic theory that emphasizes one’s personal connection to places and inventive ways to navigate the urban environment.
This activity was particularly engaging for younger folks who blended memory with imagination, often with whimsical elements! Central to all of these drawings was their home, in both real and fantastical senses, with hopes of what they would want in their communities as well.
Below are some of the drawings, with some of the participants creating their work.
The photos you see are some that I have taken around Dorchester (mostly in Fields Corner and Meetinghouse Hill area) based on my conversations with current and former Dorchester residents when they talk about home.
Some of it is also an exploration of where my mom grew up.
I mostly love walking around to find the little moments of wonder.
