The Minneapolis House Project
Neighborhoods naturally change, but when you see drastic, alarming changes that displace and directly affect people of color and low income groups, that’s when you know the danger of gentrification is real. I live in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, a small community made up of diverse populations and homes. I feel most of my neighbors are conscious of respecting our community, but I feel our landlords and the developers interested in our neighborhood do not. We’ve begun to see many unaffordable developments built in the neighborhood that do not fit in with the mission of inclusivity and representation that I’ve learned to value and appreciate while living in the neighborhood. The potential changes to many Minneapolis neighborhoods including Whittier are dangerous to the well being and livelihood of a lot of people.
I created The House Project as an homage to and record of the beautiful homes I bike and walk by daily. I often go on bike rides around my neighborhood on nice days, snapping photos on my disposable camera of the houses that stand out to me or I feel encapsulate the aesthetic of Minneapolis’s streets. They are often not necessarily beautiful in the sense of grandeur but more so in their livability and uniqueness. Affordability can look like a lot of things - a duplex, a new apartment building, a single family home, an old quirky complex. I photograph what stands out to me, providing a record of the moment in time that I took it. Who knows how much longer it will be there? After getting my photos developed, I cut out the little traits I love so much like intricate moldings and vibrantly colored window frames, and collage them together to create quirky mega-homes made up of these cut up photographs. Homes like the one I live in and those around me are in danger of being torn down and developed into unaffordable and luxury buildings that don’t cater to the needs of the actual income groups and residents that make up the neighborhood. One bedroom luxury condos do not represent the past and current population - they represent a group that developers are attempting to lure to the neighborhood and inevitably displace the families and community members already here. They minimize the movement in Minneapolis towards housing justice. My wish is to capture the beauty of our current buildings - physical structures that mean so much to us and represent so many things, and combine them into a conglomerated mish-mash of what it looks like to be home. A home is a necessity to us as humans - it makes us feel safe, it allows us a place to rest, gather, create memories, and be ourselves. Not everyone has one, but everyone deserves one. Maybe if we can appreciate these homes and the people who have to work so hard in a corrupt system to live in them and bring diversity of culture and voice, there can be a more forceful solidarity to keep them around for future generations, or replace them when needed for buildings that can house people who are within income brackets that new luxury condos do not cater to.
The more I learn about the affordable housing crisis and gentrification, the more it seems like it’s more complicated than it is made out to be, like most things. How can you proactively develop areas that are food deserts, that have struggling small businesses, that experience brain drains, yet adequately ensure that development is meeting the needs of rather than kicking out the most vulnerable populations that live in these neighborhoods? What is helpful? What isn’t? Who needs to be involved? Who shouldn’t? How can you ensure that those who should be involved know how to and know their voice matters? How do you hear the voices of developers and constituents while understanding the power dynamics and privilege corporations and people with money have in a capitalist system? Is it possible to successfully develop without the presence of those profiting off of capitalism? How outside the box can you think while still practically affecting communities that are seeing life altering changes by the minute while stagnancy in others is causing harm as well? I hope these collages can fuel conversations around housing justice and spark activism and community protection of those at risk of losing homes due to gentrification and displacement.
20% of the funds I collect from this project will go to Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia - Renters United for Housing Justice, a local group fighting directly for renters experiencing housing injustices in Minneapolis.