A slide from Abigail's collection of images.
In this recording hear Abigail and another woman of Slideshow, Lolita Parker, talk with artist Elisa H. Hamilton about the experience of documenting their lives, creating the slide talks, being vulnerable, and helping to create a piece of public art.
Abigail Norman. Photo by Sylvia Stagg-Giuliano.
Abigail Norman lives and works in Jamaica Plain, where she is Director of the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, inspiring lifelong learning in craftsmanship and creativity for all. She has worked for nearly 40 years in community-based arts and media, including time as Program Coordinator at Forest Hills Educational Trust and Director of Somerville Community Access Television. Her work in the field started at Women Make Movies in 1978. She serves as a member of the Boston Cultural Council and sits on the planning council for the Mini-Maker Faire at Boston Children’s Museum. She loves to draw and experiment with pop-up paper folding. She believes in communities working together for social justice and ecological well-being
What are the words you live by?
Much as I love words, I do not live by them, but through being in the world.
What wisdom do you want to pass on to others?
I'm not yet in a position to pass on wisdom.
I feel most powerful when...
Power is not in my toolbox.
The people who knows me best are...
My sisters
I am proud of my city when...
Its people gather to affirm justice, share resources, support the vulnerable, protect nature, celebrate creativity.
If there was one thing I could change about my neighborhood it would be...
To ensure affordable housing for all.
If I could change anything in the world it would be...
To establish mutual generosity instead of individual avarice as the basis of the social economy.
Something you'd never guess about me is...
The secrets I keep.
I'm drawn to art that makes me feel...
Curious, expanded, peaceful, emotional, transported, delighted, funny, stirred, revelatory, grateful, humane, grounded, surprised, connected.
I am interested in stories about...
Almost everything.