humans of san diego project
By Simon Mantoani
Humans of San Diego Artist Statement
"For our project, we needed to go out into our communities and talk to people. We practiced our interview skills for this project even before we knew what our project was. For example, reading The House On Mango Street and learning about their community, along with studying identity through stories, practicing how to break down the real meaning of people’s words, and learning how to make an interview feel like a conversation. We read different short stories and books and then talked about them to practice all of these things. When the project started, we looked at Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York movement through journals every morning. We also watched different interviews to think of questions to use during our own interviews, so we could have people open up about meaningful stories. After that, we went on field trips to places like SDSU, and San Diego City College to interview people, along with going out into our own communities to talk to people. Our final product will be a photo gallery of people from San Diego, so we can share their stories.
This project has taught me to try and go out of my comfort zone. To do this project, required us to be brave and ask people if we could interview them, and ask about life-changing, meaningful moments in their lives. I learned that I accomplish more when I step out of my comfort zone. I had to ask people from my community if I could interview them. But when I was done, it felt really good to accomplish something that I was scared to do. From my interview subjects, I learned that everyone has a different story. Some people have gone through a lot that was life-changing, and have had difficult things in their lives to overcome. For other people, nothing huge or difficult has happened to them, but they still have a mindset of kindness and want to do good for people and the world.
This project is special because of how different it is, and how it's showing people from all around San Diego stories from our community. I also think that this project is special because we aren't just asking people questions about random things and then walking away. We’re having a conversation with people and making connections with them about their own experiences. We are then taking meaningful things they say and putting them on display in a gallery of photos of the people from our communities so everyone can see it. People will be able to look at the faces of their homes, along with the stories of these people. I hope that people who see our photo gallery will be able to know that everyone has their own perspectives, their own experiences, and their own lives, and stories to tell. Just because you think a certain way, doesn't mean everyone else does too. People, though they may not show it, all want to help the world. Or, at least do something good for the people around them. Everyone cares about the world and everyone wants to make a difference, and our project Humans Of San Diego is to share that with the people of our homes."
Above is a project description I wrote in 7th grade on the Humans of San Diego project.
Humans of San Diego Artist Statement
"For our project, we needed to go out into our communities and talk to people. We practiced our interview skills for this project even before we knew what our project was. For example, reading The House On Mango Street and learning about their community, along with studying identity through stories, practicing how to break down the real meaning of people’s words, and learning how to make an interview feel like a conversation. We read different short stories and books and then talked about them to practice all of these things. When the project started, we looked at Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York movement through journals every morning. We also watched different interviews to think of questions to use during our own interviews, so we could have people open up about meaningful stories. After that, we went on field trips to places like SDSU, and San Diego City College to interview people, along with going out into our own communities to talk to people. Our final product will be a photo gallery of people from San Diego, so we can share their stories.
This project has taught me to try and go out of my comfort zone. To do this project, required us to be brave and ask people if we could interview them, and ask about life-changing, meaningful moments in their lives. I learned that I accomplish more when I step out of my comfort zone. I had to ask people from my community if I could interview them. But when I was done, it felt really good to accomplish something that I was scared to do. From my interview subjects, I learned that everyone has a different story. Some people have gone through a lot that was life-changing, and have had difficult things in their lives to overcome. For other people, nothing huge or difficult has happened to them, but they still have a mindset of kindness and want to do good for people and the world.
This project is special because of how different it is, and how it's showing people from all around San Diego stories from our community. I also think that this project is special because we aren't just asking people questions about random things and then walking away. We’re having a conversation with people and making connections with them about their own experiences. We are then taking meaningful things they say and putting them on display in a gallery of photos of the people from our communities so everyone can see it. People will be able to look at the faces of their homes, along with the stories of these people. I hope that people who see our photo gallery will be able to know that everyone has their own perspectives, their own experiences, and their own lives, and stories to tell. Just because you think a certain way, doesn't mean everyone else does too. People, though they may not show it, all want to help the world. Or, at least do something good for the people around them. Everyone cares about the world and everyone wants to make a difference, and our project Humans Of San Diego is to share that with the people of our homes."
Above is a project description I wrote in 7th grade on the Humans of San Diego project.