How Isolation Inspired a Community Project:

As the COVID-19 pandemic surged and the world grappled with its consequences, I watched AHC Inc’s resident services team work tirelessly to provide essential services to their residents since March 2020. Studio PAUSE is in the Rinker Community Center, located in AHC Inc’s Gates of Ballston community. By September, uneasy in my “non-essential” status but still at the Studio every day, I watched how the Studio community found ways to connect with their creative selves—desperately trying to make sense of it all—and sharing their stories and art with me. I wondered if I could help by taking these possibilities, the inspiration, and the hope to others. What if we shared everything we did when we paused in 2020 with the residents of the apartment community? If they could not come to the studio, as the community center was closed to the public, could we take our stories to them? Could the space become a book?

Learn about the project on www.StudioPause.com here.

Also, see how the book inspired a year-long exhibit here!