In 2021 as the pandemic, lockdown and all the came with it continued I decided to start a project where I would make collage at the end of each week that included all the news, pop culture, and activities that went on that week. Below are various posts from the project with their weekly captions. Here was my caption on the last post wrapping up the project: 

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"Last night I was reading a book my grandpa gave to me and it had this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt in it “I felt obliged to notice everything”. This struck me as a reflect back on this project and what it came to be about. Noticing the things I noticed happening around me. At first I was really concerned about being accurate and “non biased” with the news I included. As I went on I realized I’m not really tracking what went on in this year like a history book, it’s a track of what I picked up on was happening this year. There’s probably huge events I missed and things that seemed huge that I’ll look back on as not a blip on the radar. Which stories cut through, which seemed scary, relevant, new, exciting, important. What was happing in my family, at work and playing on the tv and radio as the events broke through. This isn’t an accurate record of how events happened in 2021 it’s accurate to how I experienced it.

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Reflecting back on all 52 collages I’m struck by alot of comparisons through out the year:

• I did a lot of personal growth this year, new job, new business, new car and moving out to a new apartment. But the duality of building a life that allows you more freedoms while also living through the pandemic where our ability to freely do activities is constantly teetering. You can see the excitement as collages introduced vaccines and openings and then watch case numbers and fear creep back into them.

• The democratic win of the largest voter turn out election, followed by the largest threat our democratic institution ever faced with an attempt to overthrow the election. Seeing absolutely no response or protection of voters rights as they are continually infringed upon in Republican states.

• The year you finally see a women in the executive office is the same year the Supreme Court seems seems intent on rolling back reproductive freedoms.

• 5 climate disasters making enough news for me to include them and the only meaningful climate provision offered in Congress stalled by a coal baron.

• Ending Americas longest war, but continuing to raise the military budget instead of funding a social safety net. That military being wholly unprepared for the cyber warfare of the future which we’ve already seen glimpses of.

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There’s undoubtably a lot more to notice here and as time passes certain events in 2021 will seem more pivotal and important as others will fade away. I look forward to seeing how this project feels different and the meaning changes over time.

For now this project was most helpful to me in getting over a mental block and fear I had of sharing my work online. It started as something to keep me accountable because I said I would do something and now I had to follow through, and even then I didn’t think I’d make 52 weeks. All of your positive messages and feedback made that much easier for me and I’m looking forward to creating new things to share in 2022.