View transcript
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(gentle music playing)

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- [Heike Winterheld] In the fall of 2020,

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we were thinking about how to best

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welcome our visitors back.

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Knowing, at the time, that
by the time we reopen,

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people would have had
experienced major change

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in one way or another.

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And we were trying to think of ways

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that would help people process the change,

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and also encourage a positive
outlook on the future.

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Stories of change touches
on three of the major events

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that brought on change that
affected people's lives.

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One, is obviously the COVID-19 pandemic.

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And, the 2nd major event,

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involving the killing of
George Floyd and many others

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that spurred change on a broader level.

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And yet another change on top of it,

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was the record-breaking
California wildfires,

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as a sign of environmental
change that's ongoing.

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The exhibit encourages
processing of the change

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that people experienced.

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And we wanted to also provide
people with the opportunity

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to connect with each other.

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So the exhibition area
consists of different elements.

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One of the vibrant murals
by two local artists,

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Mark Harris and Bianca Rivera.

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The 2nd element is the
photography by Amy Snyder.

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The 3rd element is the
participatory element

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that allows visitors to share

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their own personal stories of change.

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- [Mark Harris] I refer to
myself as a contemporary artist,

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so, I'm doing art of the now.

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Mostly, it's a reflection
of my experience,

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so it's coming from an
African-American perspective.

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The piece is gonna be
two young boys, brothers,

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who are trying to see who's the tallest.

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Who's growing the fastest.

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And they're sort of standing back to back.

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And so what I'm hoping
that the piece will do

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is to show the African-American male

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in a light that they're
not usually portrayed in,

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especially young African-American men.

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They're often painted as criminals. Thugs.

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And, they grew up just like any other kids

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doing the same things that kids do,

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having the same desires,
and wishes, and hopes

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for their lives.

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I'm hoping that people will see a side

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of the African-American experience

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that they may not be able to
see, or be able to consider.

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I really want people to get
in touch with their humanity

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when they see my work.

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- [Bianca Rivera] Mural
making is very new to me.

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And so, it's been a real joy to see

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that my illustrative practice
can be transferred into,

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like, this very large and public space.

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When we first started the
process and the exploratory team

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gave me 4 themes to work with,
or like, get inspired by.

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One of them was celebrating
moments of joy and community.

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I was just immediately drawn to that one.

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So what I landed on for
this final design is

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just to display the little
vignettes of this past year.

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This piece definitely meshes
moments of collective action.

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You see families holding up
poster boards and protesting,

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and you see the small moments
of joy when they're like

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introducing a new baby to
the family via FaceTime,

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or someone is announcing to the family

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that they got engaged via Zoom.

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And so, I really wanted
to just visually explore

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that whole spectrum of what
we all definitely experienced

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this past year.

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- [Amy Snyder] I would
describe my photography as

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portrait documentary.

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So, people-centric. Things
happening in real time,

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kind of journalistic.

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And when COVID started, I kind
of went back to my original,

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my first love in photography,
which is street photography.

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Initially I started by walking
around in my neighborhood

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with my camera.

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I feel like it's a really great way to see

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how things are changing in the landscape.

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The exhibition of photographs
is divided into 3 walls.

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The 1st wall, when you enter on the left

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is about the fires that
happened last year.

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In particular, that the day
that the sky turned orange.

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The 2nd wall is about the
social justice movement,

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in particular, in Oakland.

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The 3rd wall is on shelter in place.

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Most of the photographs
don't have people in them,

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and that's because there
weren't a lot of people

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out and about.

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But you did see signs of
people wanting to communicate.

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I really try to edit the photographs

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to show some of the more
positive aspects of the year.

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I hope that it shows some
of the resilience of people.

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I also hope that they see
a little bit of levity

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in my photographs.

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- [Heike Winterheld] At heart,
Stories of Change is about

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how we think, feel, and behave
in a changed environment,

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especially in a social environment,

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and the broader theme of
Gallery One is how we relate

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to our social environment.

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It's the role of humans in
their social environment.

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Many of the exhibits
that you see on the floor

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in Gallery One are informed
by different disciplines

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in the Social Sciences.

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Stories of Change focuses more on the arts

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than on the sciences.

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But, the Exploratorium
has a history of focusing

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on both art and science as
major fundamental methods

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of inquiry. And to me,
as a Social Scientist,

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this is particularly a productive marriage

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because both artists and social scientists

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share an interest in the role of humans

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in the social environment.

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