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Despite some technical difficulties—which I will resolve before next month—I think webisode No. 2 went off quite well...

Mostly because of the great participation of people like Dave Eischeid, Kathy Jolly Vance, and Margaret Berrisford. I hope those of you who were unable to make the noon meetup will tune into the recording here and let us know your thoughts. We are really hoping for a dialogue, a continued sharing of voices. While our journey down the river seems so long ago now, the stories still resonate and have the ability to bring new stories to light as we journey into this day, and the next.

I've been thinking a lot about the time lost between now and November 5, 2019 when we landed at the mouth of the Mississippi River. By this point now in 2022, I thought for sure I would have written a book or created a major dance project related to all the material we gathered. Needless to say, there's been a delay in the process. The whole world has been in a time warp to some extent with the pandemic, and to be sure, that's part of it. But also, I suffer from depression, bipolar depression, and I forgot to account for the slump that would come after a major upswing in activity in creative practice like the creation and execution of the Relay.

I'm sharing this now because after attending a seminar last week about dispelling stigma around mental health issues, I feel I need to share my story as much as others have shared theirs. We all have mental health—sometimes our health is good, sometimes not so good. Some of us deal with mental health issues in a serious way, others more casually, but regardless, we should be able to talk about it and care for each other with the same concern as any kind of illness or pain we might be going through.

This reminds me of meeting with Michael Bischoff in Minneapolis on day 22 of our journey. Michael was the architect of a unique story map of the river throughout the Twin Cities region and throughout his suffering with brain cancer had truly dedicated his life to the river. He told me about a talk he attended at the White Earth Reservation where a woman said "if you’re a well-meaning liberal like person, ...find a place, fall in love, and commit to it"—which Michael took kind of seriously in his life and his work. He investigated his own special spot along the gorge and opened the door to the stories of others and their locations along the river. However he also understood, "it's the one particular spot and it's everywhere too," as he remarked on the translation of the word Mississippi from the Ojibwe—grandfather of all waters. "And so it's everywhere. It's not just this one spot."

This all seems very relevant considering the stress and anxiety and oftentimes real pain we are experiencing during the times we are in. We may feel this in our one spot, but it is everywhere. I hope that like for myself, you have also found listening to the voices of the river, the communities that give so generously, and just being connected to the river itself like a panacea for mental and physical health. I so greatly appreciate all of you for the time and energy you share with me and this project. I hope I can give back some of this well being.

It's good to be connecting again, building again, and finding a way to create not just one "grand finale" but a continuous flow into the future where these stories will keep being told.

Watch February's episode of The River Connected, featuring Terry Larson, Paul Dressen, Roger Krieger, and Richie Blink. We had great participation from our Zoom audience—thank you again!
WATCH NOW

Join us March 17th at Noon

No. 3: A River Connected:

stories about river, race, home and climate

Join A House Unbuilt’s Victoria and Tom Styrbicki in a series of monthly Zoom convenings. In our third episode on March 17th at noon, we will dive into four stories that connect the issues of river, home, race, and climate in unique and intrinsic ways: We will start with the Mohns Fish Market and connected stories of what is left of commercial fishing in the Upper Mississippi then move many miles south to St. Gabriel, Louisiana where Mayor Lionel Jensen shares his global view of cleaning up the river alongside his very local sense of home. This idea of home can be born into us or adopted thanks to the river, and Alanda Gregory, a transplant to Dubuque from Chicago, testifies to the power of the river to shape her sense of home and help overcome barriers of racial disparity. Finally we venture to East St. Louis, a crucial center point in the story of the river as told by poet laureate Eugene Redmond—the fight for Black lives, economic stability, and a continued connection to the river is one that continues. As we keep saying, the river tells stories that are relevant today in addition to its great histories, and we should listen and engage. Come connect with us and share your stories as well.

Zoom in March 17th, 12pm CT - FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

REGISTER FOR THE ZOOM

News from our partners...

Mississippi River Network

MRN presents an upcoming webinar titled Nutrient Trends Monitoring & the “Great Lakes to Gulf” Virtual Observatory. 
Tuesday, February 22 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm CT  
Please register at: https://bit.ly/NutrientsWebinar 

PLUS
Join MRN or Become a River Citizen
TODAY

Don't forget, A House Unbuilt is a 501(c)(3), and that makes your gift to our matching campaign tax-deductible!

Help us reach our funding goal to support the exciting collaboration with creative firm Studio Meta to design the interactive story map that will bring the stories of Relay of Voices into everyone's lives. Tom and I have personally put $20,000 forward as matching funds. Every dollar you donate will be doubled up to the $20,000 match!

Give Now
Alluvium Theatre
A House Unbuilt
Relay of Voices

A House Unbuilt is a 501c3 non-profit organization that uses radical listening practices to reconsider and reimagine the places where we are from, the people that surround us, and the times that we live in. Its flagship project Relay of Voices was created with the support of hundreds of local individuals, organizers, agencies, and governments.

 

Relay of Voices and related publications have been funded through generous donations, grants, and in-kind contributions. Special thanks goes out to the Bradford Family Foundation, Chicago Dancemakers Forum, 3Arts and donors to 3AP, Hank Danos, the Louisiana Seafood Promotions and Marketing Board, the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, the Mississippi River Network,Gray Stream, Mike Hamner, the Joe W. and Dorothy Brown Foundation, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Reed Mendelson, Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and Foundation, and Rick Richard.

Copyright © 2022 A House Unbuilt, All rights reserved.


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