People's Homes: Emily Fitzgerald and Molly Sherman

People’s Homes is a collaborative project of artists Emily Fitzgerald and Molly Sherman that honors longtime residents and investigates expanded notions of home. Fitzgerald and Sherman began the People’s Homes project in 2015 by pairing five Portland-based artists with five senior citizens. Each artist made a small-scale billboard to honor the seniors’ life experiences, which were installed in the residents’ front yards. People’s Homes at the Contemporary at Blue Star will be a third iteration of the project focused on intergenerational connections, equity, housing, and aging in San Antonio.

For the Contemporary, Fitzgerald and Sherman have invited a representative from five local cultural organizations to interview an intergenerational pair/group of residents. These stories will be brought together through a publication and exhibition with elements representing each intergenerational relationship in conversation with the project participants and at the residents’ homes.

This investigation is in part about bridging the indistinguishable line between the personal and political. As artists, Fitzgerald and Sherman are interested in using creative practices to humanize, visualize, and reflect on the complex issues of gentrification, aging, and isolation.