#SocialDistancePorching
If you’re familiar with the Harrison Center, you know we are a little obsessed with front porches. Ok, maybe not just a little. From hosting Porch Parties to commissioning art, music, and videos celebrating porching, we have spent years encouraging our city to get back on their front porches. Porch Parties are the place where neighbors become friends, networks are expanded, and your street starts to feel like home.
Every year, we look forward to May when we officially kickstart Porch Party Season. This spring is different. There won’t be any block wide porch parties. No happy hours with the neighbors. No gatherings of kids playing in the street. And that makes us sad. But the relevance and importance of porching has not been diminished, in fact, it’s more important than ever.
As we wait out this period of isolation, the front porch remains our most accessible venue for face-to-face interaction and connection to community and nature.
We encourage you to join us on the front porch (or stoop or balcony) each day at 5 pm. Talk to your neighbors from a safe distance, practice your “Hey, neighbor” wave, and enjoy the new spring blossoms and fresh air. It might not feel like a typical Porch Party, but Social Distance Porching can truly spread love and human connection around your neighborhood, making each of us feel a little less alone.
We think it's important to document this history. We believe artists are particularly good at documenting history, capturing the emotions society is feeling at the moment. One such artist is Emily Schwank of Raincliffs Photography. The Harrison Center is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Schwank—100 Houses: Documenting Social Distance Porching. Throughout the duration of quarantine, Schwank will be photographing residents on their front porches from the street, in keeping with social distance guidelines. The project will capture the emotions we’re feeling, the activities getting Hoosiers through quarantine, as well as the houses where Indy residents are sheltering-in-place. In Schwank’s words, “In this very strange time we are living in, telling people’s stories feels even more important. History books are made up of big events. But history itself is made of people, every day ordinary people trying to live their lives through extraordinary times. Their stories, their images, are what will show the future what this time is like. And who we were while we lived through it.”
We will be posting the photos here so you can follow along and see our progress. And of course, if you porch, please #SocialDistancePorching. We’d love to see what you are up to!
Herron-Morton Place
Martindale-Brightwood
Old Northside
Friends and Neighbors
Woodruff Place
SoBro
Watson-McCord
