Photo courtesy North Natomas Jibe
BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Anecdotes about walking, biking, or riding public transportation are being sought from older adults who live in north Natomas for an oral history project.
“Wisdom Travels” is a collaboration between visual artist Janine Mapurunga, one of the city’s artists-in-residence, and North Natomas Jibe, a local nonprofit.
Older adults are invited to participate in the project by sharing their own stories about how traveling — other than by car— impacted their lives.
“The purpose of ‘Wisdom Travels’ is to engage with elders of North Natomas who would like to share stories about alternative methods of transportation,” said Mapurunga.
Mapurunga creates art which addresses universal themes such as food, family and cultural traditions. She has worked with teens, adults, and seniors from different cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds and recently developed box wraps for a health and wellness public art project in south Sacramento.
Every city council district has an opportunity to partner with an artist-in-residence.
“We want to know how our older generations’ lives may have changed because of how they chose to travel, why they made the decision to walk or bike, and how that choice made them feel,” said Mellissa Meng, program manager for Jibe’s bike and bus programs.
According to Meng, the city’s Office of Arts and Culture paired Mapurunga with Jibe at the recommendation of Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby, who represents north Natomas on the city council.
“Wisdom Travels” combines Jibe’s mission with Mapurunga’s interest in multigenerational knowledge, oral history and documentary photography, Meng said.
“To ensure a diverse array of perspectives, we are hoping to hear from as many North Natomas neighborhoods as possible,” she said of the storytelling gathering effort.
In addition to community engagement on the role alternative transportation has played in the lives of older adults who now live in north Natomas, this project will result in artworks which will later be installed in the community.
“We respect our elders, and want to use this project to honor their diverse experience and collective wisdom,” explained Mapurunga, who will interview and photograph participants.
Jibe is accepting stories from now until Feb. 28, 2021.
Contact Meng at [email protected] if you need technical assistance completing the “Submit Your Story” form linked to below.
Submit Your Story
Michelle Basso Reynolds also contributed to this report.
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.