IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Green (704) 336-2267
PORTRAITS GREET COMMUTERS "COMING HOME TO CHERRY"
Charlotte, N.C., November 26, 2008 -The next time you are traveling in the redeveloped Midtown area of Charlotte, take a moment to appreciate a part of Charlotte's history on Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus shelters. Five bus shelters located in Midtown, a mixed-use development adjacent to the Cherry neighborhood and Center City, display a series of photographs depicting the history of the neighborhood.
The Midtown shelters theme, "Coming Home to Cherry," features a cherry design by the artist that refers to the original wild cherry trees for which the neighborhood was named. Four blue tiles integrated into the concrete below the shelters reference the use of blue as a protective color, often seen over doorways in older African and African American homes.
Strong family ties shared by long-time Cherry residents and a scarcity of historical imagery inspired artist Susan Harbage Page to explore family photo albums to integrate art into the five bus shelters. Through conversations with Cherry residents, Page learned first-hand how close-knit residents felt about their community, one of the oldest surviving African-American neighborhoods in Charlotte.
"They described to me how individuals may leave the area – at times for several years – yet always return to the neighborhood knowing that someone familiar would be there to welcome them home," said Page.
Five portraits of current and former residents of Cherry representing family, community and education are featured on the shelter glass. To find the images, Page met with the Cherry Community Center, whose own archives were damaged or destroyed by water several years ago. Together, they collected images from neighborhood residents to help rebuild the community archives. The artist selected five of the images for integration into the bus shelters.
Originally born in Dayton, Ohio, Page grew up in Charlotte, graduating from Myers Park High School. Since the mid-1980s, her work has appeared in over 100 exhibitions and numerous public collections including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Mint Museum of Art here in Charlotte. Page currently teaches photography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
To learn more about CATS and its services, call 704-336-RIDE or visit us on the web at www.ridetransit.org.
