Glass House Collective’s placed-based work of resident-led community change was put on pause along with the rest of the world due to COVID-19. At a time when community work is more important than ever, the organization was in search of a way to use their arts-driven process to connect with their neighbors from a safe distance.

The project began with ‘Pandemic Portraits’, photographic profiles of neighbors sheltering in place. Reed Schick had been photographing families in his own neighborhood on the other side of town and posting them on social media. Glass Farm residents reached out to Glass House Collective with interest in inviting Reed to photograph their families in a similar way.

With funding from EFA, Reed began his work by inviting a videographer to join him and capture answers to a single question: how does the pandemic make you feel? Families posed for their portrait on porches or through windows then shared their answer and more.

‘Through Glass’ is now a multimedia time capsule that includes incredible portraits and features two unique video productions: a documentary short featuring 24 Glass Farm families in their own words and a preview video infused with powerful poetry. The audio for both films was captured on neighborhood streets.

To learn more, please visit glasshousecollective.org.