interesting and diverse and opinionated
people we are forward thinking and eager
to be a part of something bigger than
ourselves we are young and old and from
everywhere in the world and from right
here together we are community and we
need each other we need each other to
create that human connection that
community provides to fulfill the desire
to belong that is at the core of our
souls to lift each other up when we are
down to grow and celebrate we need each
other we need community my community of
San Antonio as a photographer in San
Antonio my camera takes me to places I
wouldn’t otherwise have access to in
2013 I decided to photograph a thousand
and five people to show this unique
experience I get to have it began after
a photo assignment for dream week which
is a 12 day summit that took me to
events across the city that promote
meaningful conversations and
celebrations of diversity and culture
after taking a great deal of photos the
founder of dream we commented that it
would be interesting to pull out a
thousand of these faces and place them
side-by-side I liked the idea and I
decided to start fresh a thousand would
give me a great subsection of our city
but a thousand and five would make it
memorable in order to level the playing
field and create the same context for
everybody I photographed the images in
the exact same light with the same
background in same composition stripping
away as many elements as I could that
typically lead to preconceived notions
and judgments it’s kind of like a mug
shot each person involved was asked to
write whatever they may like onto a
small marker board there was no criteria
for what they wrote I began with family
and friends and the momentum grew is the
call to action was spread via social
media I had events across the city and I
invited anyone who wanted to join the
internet was the main home of the
project but I was also able to take the
portraits into public spaces
I used a simple technique of wheat
pasting to display on city streets I had
wonderful gallery openings where I
showed all 1005 faces side by side and
finally I had them published into a
single book it was a beautiful time
capsule of our city after one year the
body of work was complete and some
interesting trends emerged 84 people
wrote just one word 71 people wrote
about love 54 people put their sign in
another language and 90 people let their
inner artist shine they showed us their
instruments and their pets they asked us
to dream and to smile and laugh and they
encouraged our faith and almost everyone
sought to inspire nearly everyone who
took part in this project used it as an
opportunity to share something positive
to be a source of light and of love and
of hope this positivity isn’t
necessarily what I expected it’s exactly
what I needed as an artist I was looking
for these ways to find these ideas of
community and diversity that were bigger
than myself and create these universal
connections but is just myself as Sarah
my motivation wasn’t quite as altruistic
I was desperately looking for a way to
get out of my own head I had just begun
a newfound road of recovery and sobriety
and although from all external
observations my life looked fine I was
dying inside and I was terribly lonely
even in a crowded room I was terrified
of the isolation that occurs when I let
my own thoughts overtake me and my hope
was that if I focused on a thousand and
five other people and I let somebody
else have the stage I wouldn’t be in my
head so much and so I listened
I listen to my daughter Scarlett as she
protested yet another photo by her
mother knowing someday we would
appreciate our struggle and I listened
as Dana told me the stories of the
symbols once written by her Native
American ancestors how the symbols for
bright prospects and hope would be
weaved into the wedding dress you would
wear to marry the man she had loved for
12 years and I listened to my
grandmother tell me stories of being
eight years old and roller skating along
south alamo in the 1930s reminding me of
where my roots are and I marveled at the
expression of Amanda who’s larger than
life or a drew me in her warmth inviting
everyone around her to be exactly
themselves and I cried several months
later when I learned that addiction took
her out of this world I’m at the royal
court a fiesta speciale who used their
disabilities as a way to bring joy and
laughter an awareness to the world
around them and I listen to bill sink in
a man who was a hundred years old who
had been a leader of integration in our
city who was pushing for renewable
energy before it was trendy I listened
as he made ricci jokes without a care in
the world because he was enjoying all of
his life to the fullest I saw how
Augusto quail are created fashion where
the imagination can transport you into
his own beautiful world of dreams and I
found myself at the walls of geekdom
where technology wizards had created
their own incubator that was lifting the
city to a new place of recognition and I
saw the power of the relationships being
created on a tenth floor in downtown San
Antonio and I learned of B story who was
diagnosed with thyroid cancer and
confined to a small room during her
treatment unable to have any visitors
the window in her room became a lifeline
to the world outside of her confinement
and I saw the just love tattoo that Suzy
and all of her love tripa gotten after
the brutal death of her young daughter
and granddaughter at the hands of an
abusive man I learned of her struggle
for justice and
I saw the fire and determination that
can only come from a mother who will
never give up the fight and I found a
friend in Enrique whose own beautiful
road to recovery had given him a new
life after he lost everything because of
addiction and he showed me how to walk
step by step with hope and courage I met
Robert at haven for hope he had come
into their doors addicted and homeless
and had gone through their programs to
find a new life on the other side with a
heart full of gratitude for what God had
done for him he became a source of
inspiration and guidance to others on a
similar journey he passed shortly after
this photo was taken the express-news
ran a wonderful story on him they asked
to use this photo as it was the only one
of him the family had I learned how when
Nina was a small girl her mother was
battling MS in cancer and her father
worked 80 plus hours a week and cared
for her and the dogs in her home became
her source of love and companionship
when she felt alone I met Charlie who
had just opened up bakery Lorraine I saw
his passion and his investment in the
city and it was contagious and I met
Miguel who although wheelchair-bound has
the life of three people we became
connected on social media and I saw a
person who is constantly putting in time
and effort to make his community a
better place I met Norma whose family
was the first to sell beauty supply
products to african-american women in
San Antonio who still works on the same
street where her father’s store was
built in nineteen sixty eight on the
east side she is fierce in her resolve
to bring every resource possible to her
neighborhood I met women like me who are
providing for the household I even met
I learned about the Sikh religion from
Parham and jess i was invited to their
place of worship where they taught me
about their fundamental belief in the
inherent equality of all people I had a
wonderful meal in their home where I
embarrassed myself by thinking the wife
for the wonderful dinner to learn that
parem the husband had been in the
kitchen all day and I learned humility
when I photographed David Robinson and
he patiently waited through the chaos as
I cut my hand and the flash broke and
the background tumbled to the ground and
my ego was put into check and I saw the
strength of a military wife who’s giddy
excitement over her husband’s return was
that of a school girls and Mario who in
Native American tradition cleansed me
with burning sage and listened as I
aired my troubles and although he cannot
see could somehow tell I had changed my
hair and I was reminded to never give up
and then it would be okay that I was not
alone and I knew I would never have to
be alone again my community had grown
into a loving diverse and inspiring
group of people you were all around me I
needed all of you and I didn’t even know
it it’s not my responsibility to be
alive and aware and present in this
moment sober and just as I am so that I
can be here when you might need me
because this is what community does for
each other and we all need each other we
can all have this community around us
with the intentionality to listen and
the willingness to get out of our own
heads it happens one small interaction
of time one moment of listening one sentence on a marker board thank