Home is in the Stories is an artistic archive comprising portraits of and oral histories from Black residents of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. I began this project in 2021, recording interviews in which participants discuss their experiences of making home and being Black in Bed Stuy. I photographed participants both at home and within the community. Like any project, it has taken many forms since its inception. Some of the interviews were conducted before I decided to incorporate an oral history practice. I was just going to make a book. Then, I began thinking about what an archive could be and how it could be cared for, sustainable, and accessible. Welcome to the beginning of this exploration into portraiture, memory/memorial, and finding home for Black art and Black stories. 

I am driven by the importance of building a record for the future so Black people's experiences cannot be erased. The very process of making art and telling stories can be (and has been) a safe space in which Black people can remember, reimagine, and see and be seen. Black people have made home in ways that absorb challenges and make something new from them. Bed Stuy is evidence of this, as a hub of Black business, art, culture, homeownership, and more. I am offering space to reflect on and record the experiences of people who call this (re)generative locale home.

To Black folks: we deserve to luxuriate in a space reserved for storytelling––to reflect on, share, and preserve truths that rarely get to be recorded the way we want them to be recorded. My wish is that you can recognize parts of yourselves in your neighbors, explore, heal from their stories. We’re magic; we’re stardust! What does home mean to you, and what brought you there? 

To non-Black folks: explore what decentering in this space feels like, while experiencing Blacknesses in this way. What does care for Black people look like for you, here and elsewhere? 

Everyone: let’s foster connections, share stories of the past, and dream of a new future together.