SHARE YOUR STORY | FEATURED STORIES
How will we remember life in Bellingham and Whatcom County during the Stay Home, Stay Healthy quarantine? And how will we share the story with future generations? Now is the time to record our impressions.
You are invited to join Peoples’ Perspectives: COVID-19 in Whatcom County, a county-wide, multimedia initiative to capture and archive our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explore the links below to learn more about community arts and storytelling projects where you can share your impressions of this strange and unusual time. Pick the project (or projects) that speak to you, and click on the link(s) to find out how to get involved.
Do you love photography?
Choose the camera .
Want to write about your experiences? Find the pencil.
Prefer to use mixed media? Look for the artist’s palette.
Ready to record your verbal story?
Find the microphone.
On this page, you’ll also see stories that have already been collected by partner organizations.
Our intent is to curate and archive the collection for community members, researchers, educators and journalists. Would your organization like to partner with us? Please contact Rebecca Judd with Bellingham Public Library, rejudd@cob.org, or Christine Perkins with Whatcom County Library System, christine.perkins@wcls.org.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Digital Story Dome Project
Story Dome is a colorful, geodesic recording booth that will debut in the lobby of the Lightcatcher building when the Museum re-opens. The Museum wants to stay connected and document peoples’ experiences during the quarantine.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
Capturing COVID Life Project
What images capture the essence of the pandemic for you? Share your photos in Capturing COVID Life. Hosted by the City of Bellingham.
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Dear History Project
Write your letter to the future. Your local public libraries invite you to document this history, your unique and valuable experience of it, in the form of a letter to the future.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
COVID-19 Zine Diaries Project
The Washington Center for the Book invites Washingtonians of all ages to submit their COVID-19 stories in the form an original zine or a few pages for inclusion in a collaborative zine.
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Western Washington University
Western Libraries, Division of Heritage Resources is creating a digital archive of Western Washington University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Allied Arts Creative Challenge
Allied Arts of Whatcom County will host a community exhibit inspired by your experiences and creations during the COVID-19 crisis. Artwork will be on virtual display via the web site
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KMRE Coronavirus Stories
KMRE invites community members to tell the stories of our lives during the coronavirus crisis, in KMRE Coronavirus Stories. This is your opportunity to be the reporter, interviewer, story producer or idea generator and share the impact of coronavirus in KMRE’s Coronavirus Stories.
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The Chuckanut Writers Project
The Chuckanut Writers Conference, produced by Whatcom Community College and Village Books, invites submissions of poetry and creative nonfiction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for a virtual reading to take place in September.
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The Hassle of the Tassel
No cap or gown, no family flying in, no party with keys or cake. A Western senior invites her classmates to share and submit a piece of their coronoavirus-influenced puzzle to be archived. COVID-19 playlists, unfinished journal entries, masks, garden plots, graduation day activities, and more.
VISIT THE PROJECT …
Out the Window Project
During quarantine, we had to simplify our lives to be more home-centered. Looking out our windows became a substitute for participating in the events that made up the fabric of our everyday lives. What have you been doing as we all look “Out the Window”?
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Portraits from Home
I would like to find a way to remember 2020 far into a future where our 2020 smartphone has long been discarded. For me, archiving silver gelatin prints and negatives feels like a safe way to keep the memory of this time “real” to future generations. I would love your help in adding your voice and image to this time capsule.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
Watch for More Projects
Young Reporters of The Northern Light
The Young Reporters section in The Northern Light, began April 21 in response to the stay-at-home order and school closures. Students in Blaine, Semiahmoo and Birch Bay had the opportunity through weekly prompts for eight weeks to explore effects the Covid-19 restrictions had on them, their family, or neighborhood. The project concludes on June 11, 2020.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
All Point Bulletin Covid-19 Articles
This monthly newspaper in Point Roberts, regularly publishes Covid -19 updates, news and human interest stories on the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Northern Light Covid-19 Articles
This weekly newspaper in Blaine, regularly publishes Covid -19 updates, news and human interest stories on the coronavirus pandemic.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
¡Acompáñenos!
Присоединяйтесь к нам!
ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਜੁੜੋ!
Join Us!
WHAT’S NEXT
Our intent is to archive selected contributions for use by researchers and as a record of this experience for future generations. In addition to sharing featured stories on this web page, participating organizations hope to host an exhibition showcasing the creative work shared with the Peoples’ Perspectives project. Thank you for memorializing your story.
FEATURED STORIES
INTRODUCTION TO THE SALISH SEA
COVID has changed the classroom experience in many ways. This video captures how during the pandemic, Whatcom Community College’s Anna Booker, Anita Harker and their students transformed their place-based learning class. Instead of trips to Salt Spring and San Juan islands, students thought critically about space by exploring outside and meeting online in small groups.
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ONE FROM THE HEART
As a response to the impact of the coronavirus on the Lummi Nation, Children of the Setting Suns Productions created a video series called One From the Heart featuring members of the Lummi Nation in conversation, song, and prayer. The 16 episode series brings speakers and musicians together via conference call to share wisdom and laughter with the community.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
MADE IN QUARANTINE
We want to shine the light on what resilient people are doing in the face of this deadly virus. The stories are all around us. These aren’t big stories, they’re just people doing their best in the moment.
VISIT THE PROJECT…
MAKESHIFT GALLERY PRESENTS COMFORT RHYTHM
September at Make.shift is dedicated to mental healing. We are all experiencing strong trauma from the pandemic and we have all resorted to mechanisms to help us cope. Our two talented September artists invoke the power of rhythm and tactile embraces to guide them through their recovery.
Seattle based artist, Katie Twiss is presenting a body of work that explores connection and disconnection, particularly within spaces of harm, trauma, and healing. She says “At the center of my art practice is an on-going exploration of connection. I am interested in how we bind ourselves together, how we fall away from one another, and the grey areas that exist between. What makes us continue to extend our hands out towards each other? Under what circumstances do we pull them back? I utilize images of home, landscape, thread, and the figure to examine ideas surrounding connection.”
Artist Sara Young presents A short film, “Ode to Joy,” a narration of the rolling, uneven rhythm of one of the essential elements of life. She uses musical rhythm to create an “ode” to the great capacity of human joy. She states, “It is an odd thing to be at once rebelling against the social barriers society has created to divide people and create racial strife, while also requiring physical barriers to keep people safe and healthy. This film is a testament to the joy that can be found in this moment in our history.”
MORE FEATURED STORIES
BELLINGHAM WHATCOM COUNTY TOURISM
BELLINGHAM NOW
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
Have a story to share? Explore the links on this page. If you represent an organization that would like to get involved, contact us! Everyone is welcome. Email Rebecca Judd with Bellingham Public Library, rejudd@cob.org, or Christine Perkins with Whatcom County Library System, christine.perkins@wcls.org. We welcome your ideas and interest.
