Intimate reflections reveal the heart of a neighborhood through family and community memories. This online gallery exhibit will feature the visual art by Dionne Bonner and audio documenting the stories of Hilltop residents as recorded by Whitney Brady in a narrative description of an iconic place beloved and uniquely positioned at the heart of a city. Meet the Artist. Register Here.
Dionne's Artist Statement, opens a new window | Hilltop Exhibit Quotes and Additional Information, opens a new window | Go to the Hilltop Listening Project
For full virtual experience, click on an image to enlarge and navigate through all the images.
1100 DreamsMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: death, bloodshed, aunties, oil painting, angel, darkness, gangs, drugs, pre gentrification, watchful, black art)
Size: 30 in x 30 in
Consecutive TraumaMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: Father, war, trauma, living wage, sacrifice, food, provider, stress, ocean, vast, pacific, mountains, fishing, oil painting, black art)
Size: 4 ft x 4 ft
Rhaw SyncopationMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: young adult, music, raw talent, energy, sound, oil painting, piano, black art)
Size: 36 in x 48 in
Green Space, Wright Park PoolMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: Wright Park pool, youth, nature, water, trees, oil painting, swimming, summertime, black art)
Size: 30 in x 30 in
Natural SoulMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: natural talent, singing, performing, music, artist, oil painting, black art)
Size: 24 in x 30 in
Our HouseMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: family, elders, great grandma, home, oil painting, faith, structure, black art)
Size: 24 in x 30 in
Sister I (Teetah and Great Grandma)Medium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: travel, migration, determination, urban, city, buildings, oil painting, women, suffrage, labor, sisters)
Size: 4 ft x 4 ft
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Sisters III (Michelle and Dionne)Medium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: youth, community, neighborhood, safety, sisters, bond, homeownership, oil painting, sidewalk, black art)
Size: 4 ft x 4 ft
Take a BreathMedium: Oil Paint (Meta tags: community, sweeping, tree, oxygen, elders, grandma, broom, railroad, economic growth, recession, black art, oil painting)
Size: 36 in x 48 in
Our VoiceMedium: Color Print with Quotes (Meta tags: family, community voice, colorful, shapes, tree, oil painting, communication, structure, black art)
Size: 108 in x 43 in
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The Hilltop Listening Project was a concept developed by Whitney Brady and Jordan Pugsley as a way to document the oral history of the Hilltop by the people themselves. They recorded interviews with 20 people with deep connections to the Hilltop, featuring someone born in every decade from the 1920's through 2000's.
All of the recordings were done in the Spring of 2017.
Additional Information, opens a new window
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Track 1, opens a new window
How has the neighborhood changed? |
Track 7, opens a new window
People Center History - Part 1 |
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Track 2, opens a new window
What are your earliest memories? - Places |
Track 8, opens a new window
Malcolm X Center (Tom Hilyard) |
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Track 3, opens a new window
Fish House origin story, Jone's Glass and Used Materials origin story |
Track 9, opens a new window
Favorite Places, streets where people grew up, forgotten history (fruit trees, etc.) |
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Track 4, opens a new window
People Center History - Part 2 |
Track 10, opens a new window
What businesses do you remember being on Hilltop? |
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Track 5, opens a new window
Names and Ages of all interviewees |
Track 11, opens a new window
Credits |
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Track 6, opens a new window
How did you or your family get to Hilltop? - Family History of Hilltop |
About Dionne Bonner
Dionne is a visual artist and graphic designer and a graduate of the Art Institute of Seattle. Dionne through art and design creates space for open dialog and reflection by connecting community voice to the creative process. She has worked with a variety of organizations including museums, art collectives, nonprofit educational groups and city and state agencies. As a project-based community engagement specialist with Spaceworks Tacoma, Dionne designed a public art installation to encourage public comment with three chalkboards in the Hilltop community in Tacoma. Other examples of her community art include a temporary public installation on the grounds of the Salishan community to touch on the historical significance of indigenous land and a participatory intersection mural called Paint the Street in collaboration with the Lincoln District Revitalization Project. Dionne lives in Tacoma.
To view more information about the contributing artists you can connect with them at the following:
• Dionne Bonner, dionnebonner.com, opens a new window, dionnembonner@gmail.com, 253-219-1162
• Whitney Brady, w.m.brady@hotmail.com
