A Lot Can Happen in Three Years!
It’s hard to believe that one year after my father, TJ Swan, passed, the work of building THE CR8TV HOUSE began. And, now, three years later can look back at all that we’ve been able to build together. As I prepared for this reflection, I found myself scrolling through hundreds of old photographs. Many Images of the early days, responding to grief, writing down the vision, opening boxes, shifting through items left behind, gathering stories, asking questions, and taking one small step after another toward something that many could not yet fully see.
Three years ago, I was sitting heavily in grief. In response to that, today, we continue to build and imagine anew from memory.
We learned that memory is a form of infrastructure.
THE CR8TV HOUSE began with things left behind, photographs, objects, a home, and the memories of the people who came before us. Over time, we began to understand that memory is not simply something we preserve. It can be something we activate.
In the past three years, our work with families have included researching genealogy, creating space for artists to explore their memory through their practices, and continued our commitment to stewarding stories and objects via our Sankofa Residency. We continue to ask: What happens when we make space to remember? Rest? Be? What becomes possible when the past is allowed to inform how we (re)imagine the future?
Our Sankofa Artist Residency and other artist-centered work have continued to remind us that artists are not simply people who make things for communities. Artists are thinkers, researchers, storytellers, educators, and community builders. We believe artists can solve complex problems.
When artists have space to experiment, time to develop their ideas, and the trust to respond to what they see and experience, their work can create connections that extend far beyond the artwork itself.
This year, we continued to experiment with what it means for THE CR8TV HOUSE to be a place for gathering, stewardship and exhibition. This summer, we developed our garden space and added four public art pieces. We commissioned two three murals and brought art to a nearby bus stop. We recently even gathered with our neighbors for a block party. We continued creating opportunities for artists and community members to meet one another outside of traditional institutional spaces.
Each of these moments are the makings of something becoming larger. This work is helping us imagine what a community-rooted arts institution can look like when it takes the time to listen, research, reflect, and respond. We are learning that building doesn't always have to happen quickly to create momentum. Read that again.
Sometimes the most important work is the work that allows us to slow down enough to notice what a community is asking for. So as we look toward what comes next, we're asking: What else becomes possible when we continue to make room for art, memory, gathering, and imagination?
Thank you for believing in this work, for showing up, for sharing your stories, for supporting artists, and for helping us turn a house born from grief into a growing space for memory, imagination, and community.
Three years in and we're just getting started.
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