Tales from the Porch I: We are Human
2019 Exhibition & Screening Premiere - Buffalo State University
Aitina Fareed-Cooke, founder of Get Fokus’d Productions, developed the Tales from the Porch project in 2019 as an opportunity to break stereotypes and amplify the voices of members of the Buffalo, NY community through the use of creative arts.
Traveling to the four corners of Buffalo NY with her “weapon of choice” - the camera and her pen - Fareed-Cooke captured a collection of spaces and community voices showcasing what inevitably connects us is the fact that we are all human trying the best that we can within our society.
Tales from the Porch I: We are all Human was funded in part by Buffalo State University's Anne Frank Project, Get Fokus’d Productions and A.I. The Anomaly’s Patreon Members.
The Storytellers
Coffee
"A young boy got shot right across from my house. They ran right in between my house and the next one. I just want people to come together. We all human."
He saw things that he wished he could erase from his memory
Young lives lost in the near distance
Bullets fly like mosquitos, sucking lives aways
He prays for unity, togetherness and hope
There’s change brewing in his cup as he sips from the porch
Cigar
"Life is like this cigar.... slow burn. Painful but Calming. The one who holds it hopes to savor every pull."
Smoke rises as the neighborhood dreams
Mid day when the cars ease on by
We sit and stare into the afternoon sky to free our minds
Free spirits and free souls
Funny how freedom was found, on the porch
Dog
"This is the house where I watched my daughter learn to ride her bike. I stood right here."
A father and his canine watches from the wooden paved palace
As his iris captures beauty
His daughter pushes pedals with speed, confident now
Accomplishments embedded in memories
Collected here, at the porch
Bike
The spokes spoke rhythm through rides
Till the dinner bell rang, its time
Till the gun shots rang, its time
Both made heartbeats blast
And the fast patter of footsteps, on the porch
Woman
"I'm not where I wanna be in my life but I'm further than I was."
Off into the distance there is hope, she’s sure
She reached it when she felt it was the most distant
Her eyes, fixed on the future
As she packs her goals into hopes suitcase
To travel here on a new journey, a new porch
Tattered
Torn, ripped rugged and rough
Many feet have journeyed through my way
Laugher and tears have I held in my space
Creating character in between the cracks
Tattered but tough and built to last on this porch
Slime
"We started a slime business and we sell our slime right here on our porch."
Pull out the tables and chairs
The market is open
Whatcha need?
Slime, nail polish, beads, or bracelets?
We have all of that on our porch
Slide
I am the safe haven, the castle of comfort
The fortress of rest
Safety sits on this citadel, free
May you rest assure where you dwell will be secure
So go ahead and nestle deep into me, your porch
Flag
"I bet you'll find that there's no difference from one neighborhood to the next because we all human in the end."
Stars, stripes, colors and shapes
All come together to create a symbol that stands with a purpose
We the people of this neighborhood too, stand
Differences and similarities, many hands one mind
Many houses, one porch
Chair
"Man, if this chair could talk.... I'm sure it would have millions of stories to share."
I’ve been placed here for support
And have held the weight of man
Watched from this concrete platform
And witnessed humanity move
All observed from the porch