The Full Story
Carla Jay Harris and Deborah Aschheim have each been commissioned to create new Public Artworks for the renovated Robinson Park. For this first phase of their projects, they are eager to meet with people who have a connection to Northwest Pasadena to learn more about this unique neighborhood.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. How can you participate?
A. Contact us below to nominate a friend, neighbor or relative to be interviewed for the project. Or nominate yourself! We’re interested in everyone’s stories, from teenagers to middle aged people to seniors – anyone that has a strong tie to NW Pasadena. The interviews will be casual and require a minimal time commitment, usually less than an hour. Carla and Deborah will work to accommodate all schedules. All interviewed participants will receive a signed, limited-edition print as a thank you for participating.
Q. What are Carla and Deborah going to make? Where will it be installed in the Recreation Center? What materials will they use?
A. We deliberately don’t know the answer to these questions yet—we are keeping an open mind. The City of Pasadena is allowing us a generous amount of development time to learn from residents about this community. We’re hoping people will share their stories with us and help us develop our project ideas in collaboration with Northwest communities. We will develop our ideas of what we want to make from listening to and learning from you all.
Q. What do you mean share stories?
A. We want to learn more about who lives in NW Pasadena and what your experiences have been with working, going to school, buying or renting a home, moving here from somewhere else, watching the neighborhood change. We are both very interested in history and collective memory—history that is made up of individuals’ firsthand life experiences. We want to celebrate folks who live here. We also know NW Pasadena has a complicated history and we are interested in stories of resilience and overcoming obstacles, but also stories of challenges that residents face today.
Q. I don’t have a story, I’m not an “important person.”
A. We’re interested in everyone’s stories, from teenagers to middle aged people to seniors. Everyone has a story, for real. If you give back to community, mentor youth, protect the environment, participate in sports or arts and culture, advocacy or volunteering, we want to learn about what you do. If you have old photos of your neighborhood, or growing up in Pasadena, if you work for equity or celebrate your heritage or have a neighbor who tells great stories that you want to nominate, we want to hear from you.
Q. Will we be paid for our stories?
A. No, but we can take you to lunch or coffee, we can give you “thank you” art prints of artwork we make and we will sign paperwork confirming that original materials you share with us—stories or pictures—remains your Intellectual Property.
Q. Are Carla and Deborah making separate artworks?
A. Yes, each artist will develop, propose and create their own individual artwork, but since we are both interested in history and community, and our works will be experienced together in the Robinson Community Center, we are partnering on some of the community engagement. You can decide that you want to connect with just one of us though, that is fine too.
Share Your Story
Get in touch, we want to hear from you.