PORTRAITS OF PLACE

• Public Space and Participation in Fort Pienc • Handgun Advocacy in Boston • A Green Block in Jamaica Plain • Life on Main Street in Khirkee Village • Transforming Civic Space in Barcelona • The Youth Perspective on Alhambra • Who’s on Newbury Street? • The Casas Baratas of Bon Pastor • Voices from Biddeford

Who’s on Broad? culminated in a public exhibit on Broad Street featuring photography by locals and digital stories about folks on Broad. Photo by Jonathan Kennedy.

The fundamental philosophy of Portraits of Place is:

CoLab sees that it’s easy to pass judgment on a place. Run-down houses probably mean mass-foreclosure. A bustling shopping street probably means financial wealth. A community garden probably signifies an engaged neighborhood. Someone who spends the day on a corner is probably homeless. For this project, CoLab is seeking story series that take a closer look than probably.

Organizations and individuals can use sound, photos, and video to make a portrait of the place they are committed to, and help outsiders understand the stories that make this place important.

How can you become involved in Portraits of Place? Email colabradio@mit.edu with your ideas or to arrange a phone call with CoLab media staff.  For tips on blogging, check out CoLab Radio’s guide for contributors.

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Over time, Portraits morphed into something different from the original vision.  At first, CoLab Radio envisioned a cohort of people from various cities and towns publishing multimedia stories about their homes, and then coming together to exchange stories, learn new media skills, and collaborate.  That’s still a great idea, although an expensive one.