Elisa Hamilton (Left; photo credit: Suzanne Merritt) & Chris Hope (Right)
This month’s spotlight features Elisa Hamilton’s Jukebox and her community partnership with Chris Hope’s The Loop Lab. Jukebox shares community stories through an artistically restored jukebox, forming a portrait of the Cambridge, Massachusetts, community that creates an entrypoint to a greater understanding of ourselves and one another. Stories are produced by Hope’s The Loop Lab, a social enterprise specializing in media arts internships and digital storytelling. Both Hamilton and Hope are alumni of Creative Community Fellows: New England and their exciting collaboration will bring 100 audio tracks that celebrate the equally unique, rich perspectives, backgrounds and stories of folks in Cambridge.
Tell us about the project you two are working on and how this collaboration came about.
Elisa Hamilton: The Loop Lab is Jukebox’s community partner and is producing the 100 jukebox community stories that will be on the jukebox. The Loop Lab has been a huge supporter of Jukebox since its very inception. I first met Chris in January of 2019 when I was one of three finalists in the running for a $100,000 public art commission for the City of Cambridge, MA. Finalists had a couple months to develop a site specific proposal for what would become the new Cambridge Foundry. Through research and community conversations I came up with a number of ideas; the grounding concept of all of my ideas was sharing recorded stories. When I told Cambridge Arts Director of Public Art, Lillian Hsu, about my ideas, she immediately said “there’s someone I think you should meet!” and Lillian connected me with Chris Hope, Founder and Executive Director of The Loop Lab. In my first meeting with Chris and then Loop Lab Program Manager, Matt Malikowski, I shared all of the ideas with them! Chris and Matt were immediately excited about the project and incredibly generous with their time. I left that meeting with such a feeling of exhilaration, and that was the beginning of Jukebox! In March of 2019 I won the $100,000 public art commission for the project.
Jukebox will be a portrait of the Cambridge community through the medium of recorded stories. The physical installation consists of a vintage jukebox, refurbished and refitted with digital stories rather than musical tunes. The juke will have a dedicated listening space; a visitor will be able to select a story to hear in the room, and there will be a wall screen showing a transcription of the story while it is being played. Ultimately, there will be 100 tracks on the jukebox – an audio archive of authentic community voices housed in a unique, artistically restored, vintage jukebox, created to celebrate the equally unique, rich perspectives, backgrounds and stories of folks in Cambridge. Eventually all of the tracks on the jukebox will also be available to listen to right here on the jukebox website.
What are you most proud of in doing this work?
Chris Hope: I am most proud that we are empowering everyday residents in Cambridge to share their stories to the world! Media is important to civic society. If you are not telling your own story often it gets told by someone else. But with this project, Elisa and our team are working together and creating opportunities for people to tell their own stories, in their own words.
EH: I’m incredibly proud that this is a project that uplifts and celebrates the stories of community members. Jukebox is a project about bringing the stories in the margins to the center, it’s about celebrating and amplifying the stories that we haven’t heard, or don’t hear enough. And, it’s about listening together, and activating conversations about our community – what it has been, what it is now, and what we want it to be.
What’s the biggest challenge facing this project?
EH: The biggest challenge for me has been managing all the different aspects of this project, especially in the time of COVID. As the artist and creator of this project, it’s my job to see both the big picture and the small details, and push every part of the project forward; there’s community outreach, recording stories, refurbishing and remaking the jukebox itself, and designing the jukebox space to name a few. It’s keeping community members at the center of this work that drives me, and helps me to make each choice with care and integrity. COVID has made Jukebox even more challenging, but I’m deeply grateful to The Loop Lab and all of my amazing collaborators who have been such wonderful partners in this work during this really challenging time.
How has your NAS experience assisted this project?
CH: My experience with Creative Community Fellows: New England was critical in helping me to understand the power of collaboration in this region. There are many artists who form their own silos, and CCF really challenged me to connect with other artists in N.E. through the NAS network to create amazing things together! After completing my initial year with CCF, I recommended Elisa for the CCF program to NAS. To see that she is now also a CCF alumnus and that we are working together on this project, has been meaningful.
EH: My experience with Creative Community Fellows: New England played a critical role in helping me to fully understand, define and share the mission of this project with stakeholders and community members. CCF helped me to break down the step-by-step goals of Jukebox and the theory of change in a way that allowed me to understand the full potential of this project. CCF also connected me with a network of amazing folks working in the arts and culture sector to create positive change in their communities. The relationships that I have developed through CCF have been both personally and professionally meaningful for me and this project.
How can the NAS community learn more about the work you do?
EH: You can visit www.foundryjukebox.org to learn more about the project and listen to the first three Jukebox stories! And you can also learn more about me and my work at www.elisahhamilton.com – You can also follow @elisahhamilton and @foundryjukebox on IG!
CH: You can visit www.foundryjukebox.org to learn more about the project. You can also learn more about Loop Lab Studios at www.looplabstudio.org and follow up on IG @Wearethelooplab
Jukebox Mission Statement
Jukebox is grounded in the belief that by sharing our stories, we create an entrypoint to a greater understanding of ourselves and one another. Through the jukebox located at the Cambridge Foundry, combined with community-centered programming, Jukebox will:
- Create a center point within the Cambridge community for listening to and connecting with one another through the sharing of our stories
- Build a platform that amplifies community voices, especially the voices of underrepresented community groups, including BIPOC individuals
- Develop an authentic archive of stories that represents the diverse lived experiences, backgrounds and perspectives of Cambridge community members