BEEN HERE: Community Narratives on Nature & Displacement

In 2017, SouthWest Roots Artist Catalyst Resident Artists Marie Alarcon, Althea Baird, Ash Richards, Darlene Devore and Jennifer Turnbull, developed a multidisciplinary project at Bartram’s Gardens with the help of Community Liaison Sophia Poe. The culminating event was a multichannel video installation showcasing Bartram's Garden’s neighbors and friends as they perform everyday acts of art and movement, highlighting the creative power that has long existed in communities, with a focus on the intimate and personal relationships between place and the communities that interact within it, outside of the involvement of institutions.

Marie Alarcón is a multimedia artist based in Philadelphia, PA. She has worked in community media as an educator and producer for numerous arts and educational organizations over the past 10 years. She has a B.A. in Documentary and Postcolonial Studies from The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania,School of Art and Design.

Althea Baird is a multidisciplinary artist working in Philadelphia. For nine years she has facilitated community collaborations and political education workshops through the collectives BARE TEETH and
the Spatial Liberation Project. She uses oral history, collaborative writing and expressive movement as forms of knowledge-sharing between people who share space and survival.

Sophia Poe is a mother, artist, advocate, liaison, organizer and undergrad student studying Social Work at Temple University. She has dedicated over 6 years of her professional career to providing quality
services to families and community residents in the Southwest area of Philadelphia. Her goal is to promote self-love, empowerment, and healing amongst women of color through the power of the arts.