project 2: audio portrait

soundwalk

there are always birds chirping in the park, even more so now that it's spring. it's mostly sparrows, tweeting their cute little songs, but i can hear a crow on occasion, a distant, ominous caw, but i can't see it. i can never see it. it's slightly windy, and the leaves rustle soothingly. behind me, children chatter and laugh on the playground. if i listen closely, i can hear the squeaking of the ancient swing set's rusted chains.

dogs and their owners trod along the dirt path and pavement alike, soft crunching leaves and twigs on one side, the click of shoes and claws on the other. i know a dog is coming thanks to the telltale jingle-jangle of dog tags. a little yappy thing barks a sharp, high-pitched sound at a scurrying squirrel, which chitters and ruffles the grass in its escape. in the distance, a bigger dog bays, deep and low and energetic—probably tumbling excitedly around the dog run. bikers whiz by, wheels flicking, chains clicking, bells dinging brightly.

a kid practices her rollerblading, wheels cracking pleasantly against the pavement, hair whipping in the wind. a younger kid, maybe her brother, screeches his scooter to a halt and lets it clatter metallically to the ground. his little sneakers stumble clumsily before he gets back on the scooter and kicks off—at least one of his wheels is slightly squeaky. their babysitter calls out in a stern, projecting voice, warning the boy to stay close as another bike fwips by. sparrows chirp and splash and beat their wings in a small puddle, then flap frantically away as a dog pitter-patters by.

project 1: define a space

Define a Space from Francesca Martinez-Greenberg on Vimeo.

artist's statement

art has been a massive part of my life ever since i could close my fist around a crayon. throughout my childhood i was constantly drawing and observing the world around me. i've always sat on the sidelines and watched, and thought, and learned. i admire the beauty of street lamps and store signs, of speckled pigeons and tree-cast shadows, of the droopy-eyed woman with hair like a ginger cloud. i see a world with a potential for incredible beauty. but i also see a world that needs some serious fixing. i’m not yet entirely certain how, but i want to be a part of that fix.

i want to create media in which people can see themselves—their best selves. i want to create media that reflect back a world better than our own. i want television shows about the people so often erased by media. i want shows about black lesbians in wheelchairs and autistic transgender indian girls. i want shows that give voices to the unheard, that don’t limit representation as if it is a zero-sum game where diversity costs some unseen ‘points’ and you can only spend so many. (“why is she disabled and black? isn’t that a bit much?”)

i can’t yet say what my path will be. i can’t say if i would be successful in such endeavors. i’ve never attempted any sort of large project. i always find myself overwhelmed with the details and minutiae. but i want to make a change. i want to provide means of being heard to the silenced. i don’t just want to make myself better; i want to do something that will make other people want to be better, too.