“I’m proud because I built it myself”

As a 2018 Union Fellow, Pamela focused her time on a community engagement project, which showed itself in its final form as Expressions of Black Heritage Through 50 Faces. “I ended up with 50 plaster molds of 50 people. Some had beards, there was one guy with gap teeth, that one was interesting, trying not to get the plaster in there…I went into it as a learning thing, looking to study ancestral features, but it became a storytelling project too.”

After her time at the Union was complete, Pamela had 50 molds, and 50 works of arts, and nowhere to store them. She applied for a Micro Grant from Amplify Arts in December 2018 and was awarded $350 to construct storage space in her basement studio.

“Things on the walls take up space, and I needed something functional. So I built a mobile, double-sided wall, six by eight feet on wheels. Then behind I put in some stainless steel shelves. Now everything is up off the floor...perfect timing with the flooding in March! I’m proud because I built it myself.” The mobile wall functions as a door for the storage behind, but also as a display for studio visits and to display works in progress.

“The Micro Grant gave me opportunity to make this happen! This grant really, really helped.”

To learn more about Pamela and her work, visit her website.