Hello, it’s me

Hello, it’s me was a collaborative project between Hidemi Takagi and minority older adults living in New York City. The installation at Hudson Guild included Takagi’s recent photographic portraits of these adults, scanned portraits from the past and tape recordings of the subjects speaking about their rich lives and experiences.

The concept of Hello, it’s me began as a part of More Art’s Engaging Artists Fellowship, during which Hidemi Takagi regularly visited the Saint Teresa of Avila Senior Apartments in her neighborhood of Crown Heights. Through taking photographs of the center’s activity classes and occasionally portraits of the residents, Takagi developed great friendships with some of the seniors who began sharing their family narratives, as well as talking about the current events that are shaping the historically African American and Caribbean American neighborhood.

Hello, it’s me was a collaborative multimedia project where each participant chose their own style of wardrobe to be paired with a vibrant backdrop that set a cohesively colorful tone of the portraits. This allowed the portraits to show a deeper sense of their personalities. The final installation resembled a living room adorned with portraits of each participant in golden frames and bright wallpaper. Each image was paired with a set of audio recordings that allowed the audience to hear each participant’s story in their own voices.

During the process of creating the project, Takagi asked each participant to share one story about themselves and another about their family. The project provided the residents an opportunity to recollect and narrate their personal memories, while also allowing their future generations to further learn their roots through a multi-sensory experience.

Takagi was a 2015 Engaging Artist Fellow and received a seed grant from More Art to continue her work with senior citizens at Chelsea’s Hudson Guild Community Center.

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