Slideshow, 2017 by Elisa Hamilton

Putting gutsy, generous, every day lives on view

In the Fall of 2017, Now + There commissioned artist Elisa H. Hamilton to create Slideshow, a multi-media project for HUBWeek's free event space on Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Using photography, analog slides, and storytelling, Hamilton and ten other Boston-area women put their gutsy, generous, every day lives on view to the public. This group — entrepreneurs, activists, educators and artists — are the heart and soul of Slideshow. 

Originally commissioned for HUBWeek 2017, Slideshow is a communal storytelling and photography series. The original iteration featured curated slide talks and an interactive photo exhibit created by the artist and ten Boston-area women. Each talk featured 25 images representing a week in the presenter's life. 

Photo by Jean Hangarter

UPCOMING:

On March 24, 2018, Elisa Hamilton and the ten original women will reunite as part of the Life in Stories Festival, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to create an intimate, communal story-sharing space in the Museum’s Living Room.

“By reconnecting with analog technology that we can touch and hold, we are reminded of how, in its time, the original slideshow allowed the exchange of ideas in a whole new way. Slideshow provides an entry point to public consciousness and conversation about our universal connections to one another and how we can bridge gaps through sharing, listening, empathy, and dialogue.” — Elisa H. Hamilton

This project was produced in conjunction with HUBWeek.

Thrive, 2017

Supporting women and feminist expressions. 

Thrive was a co-curated exhibition at The Beehive, in Boston, MA from September 13 — October 18, 2017 in celebration of the restaurant's 10th anniversary.

The eighteen paintings, photographs, and sculptures in Thrive championed feminist expressions in their subject matter and represented artists who are fiercely committed to non-traditional, collaborative artistic practices.

The eight artists in this all-female exhibition were chosen for the mastery of their craft, their stunning aesthetic, and their convictions. The works in this exhibition explore the power of female resilience and creativity—whether they are supporting incarcerated women, drawing attention to our impact on the environment, or lifting up the voices of underrepresented women. The exhibition artists support the production of knowledge that refuses to be reproduced in the dominant white cultural structure. Their work promotes social change and a world in which we can all thrive.

Thrive artist included Ann Lewis, Rania Matar, Maria Molteni, Chanel Thervil, Silvia López Chavez, Elisa H. Hamilton, Evelyn Rydz, and the Safarani Sisters (Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani).

Thrive was co-curated by Jennifer Epstein and Kate Gilbert, founder and director of Now + There, and is part of Now + There’s Year of the Woman programming. The exhibition takes its name from one of the works in the exhibition, a word hidden in Ann Lewis’ collage “Objects of a Dehumanized World”.  

Cover image: detail of "Shannon, Boston Massachusetts, 2010"  by Rania Matar; courtesy of Carroll and Sons.