By Amy Hahn
What is the postcard project?
The postcard project is a collaborative interfaith effort to create community reflection on tough topics through art and share that collective voice so that community members might continue reflecting. There was a recent showing of the project at the library in January and February. The project reveals that many people in the Chippewa Valley want justice, peace, and welcoming community.
What inspired the start of this project?
Back in 2021, during the time of racial justice protests and when disunity in the country was so evident, I had an idea. I’m an art therapist and I’d done collaborative postcard art in the past. I adapted the concept with a group of community members from a variety of religious institutions who were interested in supporting the project. We named our group the Interfaith Action for Social Justice. The project received news coverage and we received a few hundred dollars in community donations, which we continue to use for purchasing art supplies.
Where does all of the artwork come from?
I want to underscore that this is a 100% volunteer-driven project. Even with our long list of community volunteers as well as JONAH offering to support the project, active participation has dropped off this year. I am guessing I don’t have to tell you how hard it is to drum up consistent volunteers to table our maker events and keep up with social media, coordinate shows, press, etc.
We’ve set up tables as a “maker event” at a few recurring events: CultureFest at UWEC, HmongFest at EC Soccer Park, Juneteenth, PrideFest, Chalkfest at UWEC, River Prairie Arts, and the International Event Downtown. We have also had volunteers at several other events. Check out our Facebook page for more information.
How are the themes for the project decided?
The Interfaith Action for Social Justice volunteers create a list of issues facing our community each year, vote on them, and come up with a list of response art questions for the flyers. In 2021 and 2022, racism and amity were the topics. In 2023, mental health was the chosen topic, and JONAH’s Mental Health Task Force played a huge role in “workshopping” the response art questions.
Why are these themes especially important to discuss today?
The topics, with a project like this, give the community a voice, invite conversation and curiosity, and offer a way for people to engage outside the internet to make their voices heard and make personal connections with others at the makers events. These kinds of personal connections are something society is missing. They are needed to help bridge viewpoint divides and misunderstandings.
How have you seen this project impact the community?
This project gave our volunteers a sense of purpose. Participants are certainly continuing year after year to make hundreds of postcards about how they feel. We think that has ripple effects. It led to a show at the Chippewa Valley Museum our first year, and another show this year.
At the ends of 2021 and 2022, more than ten local businesses put collages of 8-10 postcards in their windows for 2 months, as a signal to community members that they supported social justice. Our hope was that the displays would signal to people in the community that the establishment was a safe place for minority cultures.
This year we were invited to display all of the past three years’ postcards at the L.E. Phillips Public Library gallery.
What was the community response from the gallery showing this year?
We had many people share how moved they were to see all of the artwork together. Viewers had the opportunity to create postcards at the viewing and could address them to a legislator or someone they know. At least twenty people created very moving postcards that were mailed to continue the mission. While we couldn’t be there to see every person’s experience, to stand and look at the collective voices of this community was powerful.