Hi, my name is Alyssa Cuffie. And you are listening to the Durham Artist Archive. This is where we tell the story of Durham through the eyes of local artists. Let's get into it.
So today I wanted to spend some time queuing up what to expect from the Durham Artist Archive. What are you going to see when you come into this space? I want to share a little bit about the history, how I kind of came to this project. And then, um, I'll read you some of my goals as well. So, oh my gosh, it had to be roughly this time last year, maybe a little later in the year when the Snapdragon grant at VAE Raleigh opened up.
They are our very generous financial sponsors for this and I've just had this vision of trying to learn more about Durham from the folks who've been here. And, uh, I'm just, I do it in person. Like I always. try to learn about the local history. I've got some books and things like that, but I wanted to be able to share these stories on a wider scale.
So I applied with this project idea, the Durham Artist Archive, where I would essentially tell the story of Durham through the eyes of artists. And so, I applied and I was a little apprehensive because it's not a traditional project like you would typically find for grants. It's not a painting. It's not like a graphic or a visual piece of art.
And so I was honestly really surprised when I was accepted for the grant. And It just made me really excited to be able to be the bearer of these stories, to bring them to our community. And so, I will read my project summary for you all, so you kind of get a feel for where I was starting from. I wrote this probably last year, and I want to give it to you straight.
And then, I'm going to try and share some of my updated thoughts. , and how I've transitioned mentally with this project. So, the Durham Artist Archive is an oral history project that aims to interview artists in the Durham area. The project will capture the state of art, like the um, what is that, the state of America that the president does?
I know that's wrong. But, to capture the state of art in Durham in 2024 and serve as an archival space for future listeners to hear extremely localized experiences from creatives. This project will provide a platform for artists to share their stories and experiences and will help to document the rich and diverse art scene in Durham.
The podcast will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in art, culture, or Durham history. I think that's pretty solid, right? State of the Union. That's what it is. State of the Union. But, , that's what I'm really curious about. And some of the goals I pull out of that, which you're going to hear me repeat myself, but one, I want to document the state of art in Durham in 2024.
What is the experience for the working artists or even folks who are pursuing kind of creative side hustles? How? Have they been able to, like, make money? How have they felt the community has accepted them? Things like that. Two, I want to serve and uplift the Durham creative community. I think we're kind of slept on, like, obviously there's big cities that, um, have strong names for themselves creatively, and I think that Durham, that I think, I know that Durham is absolutely building itself up in the same way as we continue to grow, not only in population, but and just creative resources.
And third, I'm really curious about the impact of gentrification on the art scene. Now that's a pretty specific tie, and I don't know that there is, right? There might not be any direct impact of gentrification on the art scene, but I kind of have a feeling that there is. And being a newcomer myself, I only moved to Durham about two years ago.
I moved to Raleigh four years ago, but ever since I've moved here, I've always been very tapped into the Durham community, like coming out here every weekend to visit my friends. I just know there's, I know there's something there. And I'm trying to root out the story, uh, from the artist perspective. And so something that has changed for me recently as I've started working on this project, as I've started interviewing folks. I'm actually re recording this first episode because the original first episode that I recorded didn't seem to reflect the direction that the content was actually taking me anymore. And even though the overall goal is the same, I initially, initially had a purist view of what it means to be from Durham.
My thought was, I want people exclusively who are born and raised in Durham. And a lot of those folks exist. But in connecting with local artists who I've found to be impactful in the community and very visible and things like that, they have You know, just more of a story. You know, Durham is not the only story, it's a piece of it.
And I want to be able to create space for that. I've met folks who were born in Durham, moved away, came back. People who moved here maybe for college and have stayed 20 years. People who technically grew up in a neighboring city, let's say like a Chapel Hill, for example, but have spent all of their time in Durham actually visiting their family and friends and things like that and being a part of this specific community.
So I've broadened my definition a little bit, but the focus will always be like city of Durham and always kind of bringing it back there. I am super, super excited to bring you all on this journey with me as we uncover these stories. I already mentioned I've started recording interviews already and so there's just so much good stuff coming out and I hope that something resonates with you as you listen.
And please let me know if there's anything in particular that you want to hear about, anyone that you might be curious in hearing from. This is a limited series. I'm not going to be keeping this up forever, if you will. I'm doing a set amount of episodes, but I am really open to seeing where this opportunity takes me and who it introduces me to.
So I'd love to connect and learn more, even if it's just to talk directly. So thank you so much for this time. I can't wait for you to hear the next episode. It is so good. And I hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you.
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