Personal Reflection

The process of working with Eric, the students, Fargo residents, and the museum was personally deeply rewarding. I found the project transformative and it was transformative for others as well. I feel a part of Fargo now to tell you the truth. Many of high school students were really engaged in the project and generously and thoughtfully shared insights, energy, and great questions. There was a lot of collaboration on what would be the best route, how long the walk would be, how to collect stories, what to do with stories, etc. We talked about socially engaged art - and had some very good dialogue about the age old question of "what is art?". Eric is a painter so he said he learned a whole new way of approaching art making- and said it will inform his thinking as he enters graduate school in art in the fall. One of the people who shared her flood memory talked about moving to Fargo and no experience with flooding, she had much anxiety and fled the city for a time during high water levels. One woman shared the story of losing her house to the flood. Perhaps one of the most poignant impacts of the "Flood Stories" project was when one of Fargo residents that I had invited in advance to tell his flood story had to have knee surgery. He told me that thinking about how he was going to tell his flood story got him through his surgery and helped him recover; he did not want to miss sharing his memories at the museum gathering! I had a video conference with the Eric and the students to reflect on the project and they said they thought it was very successful in its impact on the people involved and even in people just hearing about it. I have such a feel of warmth when I think about them - which I didn't expect.