Fall 2020 Factory Fellowship Student Showcase

This past Fall, 30 Factory Fellowship students were prompted to document themselves, their treasures, and their loved ones- The Suitcase Project. These students were actively engaged in our remote-learning programs that provided them with Fellowship Kits which included disposable cameras, sketchbooks, art supplies and handouts featuring shooting ideas and ways to promote self-care, along with snacks. The students had access to one-on-one mentorship during this 8 week fellowship and received a stipend. This online exhibition features photos they have created during their Fellowship following their interpretation of the The Suitcase Project.

Thank you to the Cleveland Foundation for their support of our Arts Mastery Teen Institute. Photos will also be featured in public art through a special grant that promotes community collections generously funded by the Fay Slover Fund at the Boston Foundation.

Thank you to our Mentors: John W. Carlson, Aja Grant, Da’Shaunae Jackson, Melinda Placko, Helen Severovich, and Julia Van Wangenen.

Rebecca Abramovich

My family is from Russia and they are immigrants. My brother and I are first-generation born in America. So I have heard lots of stories of how they lived back there and their experience with coming to America. I know two different sides of the spectrum, My Mothers side was very poor and had to leave because they were being mistreated for being Jewish. My dad’s side was a lot more wealthy, my grandma’s father owned a candy factory. Both sides of my family left to come to America because it’s the land of opportunity.

Avalon Bayley

Enahjae Beasley

Fick Bimenyimana

Alaishyia Bonner

Calleigh Busch

Margaux Butzback

So I started thinking about my project, about what people would pack if they only have one suitcase, their most prized possessions. It led me to think about two people very close to my heart. They are in their 80s and have lived in their house since the 1970s and not a lot has changed since they moved in. I spent a lot of time there growing up and their house provides me comfort. Their health is failing them now, and they have all of these trinkets that once seemed so necessary and now are simply clutter, sitting in every corner of their house. How would they even pick their prized possessions in all of the stuff? It made more and more sense, the fact that there is absolutely no way that they could choose just one suitcase. I first set out to take pictures of their stuff and what is meaningful for them, but what I ended up with were the memories that I would take with me if I only had one suitcase. I know that I will always have this piece of them not only in my photos, but in my heart.

Alexis Cuevas

Nathan Dewey

Ximena Gomez

Coniah Hanley

I was asked, if I had to pack a suitcase and leave everything I have ever known today, what would I pack? I was then asked to document what I would bring with me. I looked around my home and my possessions. Besides the obvious food and clothing, my mind was drawing a blank… except for one thing, my Bible, or more accurately my faith. Of course, I could not physically leave my faith behind, but I have known some people who have had hard times and lost the one most important thing.

I knew that I could photograph my Bible, but what would that show? I wanted to make art that displayed the Bible’s effects on me, not the object itself. It is my Bible’s influence that shows me I do not need material possessions. Because of my Bible and upbringing, I would be taking a whole lot more with me than I could fit into a million suitcases. I would bring experience, life lessons, and most importantly faith. I began documenting the areas of my life that the Bible has affected, and I added Scriptures which helped me through life. My art displays why I do not fear losing everything I have ever owned. I know who provides for me, who guides me, and who protects me. And I know that no matter what happens I have nothing to fear, and I have nothing to lose.