In 2016, The Larimer Consensus Group and artist John Peña began working to create a community-engaged public art project in the Larimer neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA. Peña spent the first phase of the project interviewing and recording personal stories from long-term residents. He began with one-on-one interviews where each participant was paid $25 for a thirty minute interview. Through the interviews, Peña began working primarily with seniors residents of Larimer to collectively built an informal history of the neighborhood.
The Larimer Senior Group at the reception for “Larimer Stories” (2018). Photo credit: Renee Rosensteel.
Peña and The Senior Group with the help of Donna Jackson (Chair of The Larimer Consensus Group) began meeting regularly to select compelling quotes from the interviews that communicated a history of the neighborhood as told through the voices of the residents. The Senior Group and Peña then designed a prototype and hired a fabricator to make a metal display structure that would present these narratives to the neighborhood. The stories changed out every two weeks to present a continuously unfolding narrative about the lives of it’s eldest residents. “
Larimer Stories” by John Peña in collaboration with The Larimer Consensus Group and The Larimer Senior Group with sponsorship by the Temporary Public Art and Placemaking Program of Neighborhood Allies and Shiftworks Community + Public Arts
Sample Text from 70 year old resident (2018).
Since their initial collaboration, the Senior Group and Peña have continued working together to design new projects. In 2019, the took a series of fields trips around the city of Pittsburgh to various cultural institutions as well as inviting a variety of local artists to share their work. The group’s plan was to create a conceptual proosal for a new work of art in the neighborhood.
Due to COVID-19, the seniors are not meeting in person. Instead, Peña created a printed newsletter as a way of staying connected during these distant times. It’s called “The Larimer Times,” and can be read online below.