THINGS WE CARRY
The Memories, Feelings & Stories That Connect Us
Everyone has a story, a memory, and a treasured object. These are the things we carry with us.
And when it’s hard to put into words, we can share it with our art.
More than 200 young artists. Four enormous collaborative canvases.
One intergenerational art experience.
Each piece explores something we carry with us—feelings, memories, treasured objects, stories, and loss. The artwork moves into Open Studio Gallery 901 in Evanston, where children and adults will be invited not only to see what the young artists created, but to add their own stories and creative marks to the experience.
EXPERIENCE IT WITH US
Join us October 3 for an afternoon designed for families and kids, or an evening gathering for adults.
HELP US CARRY THIS WORK FORWARD
Our goal is to raise $12,000 to help bring intergenerational grief education through art and story to three more communities.
FOUR CANVASES.
HUNDREDS OF STORIES.
“Our Hearts of Color”
4x5 feet
We carry many feelings with us. No feeling is bad.
Every feeling is important, and our hearts are strong enough to hold them all.
Feelings can have color and shape. They can overlap, change, and exist alongside the feelings of others.
When we make space for all our feelings, we make space for connection, too.
“Tied Together”
4x4 feet
We carry our stories with us—and when we share them, they can connect us to one another.
Each child chose how their story would travel across the canvas, weaving and tying their unique piece of yarn with the yarn of others.
Some paths cross. Some stretch far.
Some come together in unexpected ways.
Our stories can take us from here to there, and sometimes somewhere we never expected.
“Treasured Things”
4x4 feet
We all carry treasured things—objects that hold memories, people, places, and stories.
Sometimes the things we treasure bring up big feelings: happiness, pride, longing, sadness, or something we can't quite name.
Whatever they bring, we can make room for it.
What do you treasure?
What story does it carry?
“Feeling Faces”
4x5 feet
We carry our feelings in many ways. Sometimes, they show up right on our faces!
After exploring different facial expressions, we drew them on green circles and created a village of faces.
Each one has a name, each one is different, and each one is okay to feel and show.
There is room for every feeling here.
OWN THE ORIGINAL WORKS
Each of the four canvases was created collectively by approximately 30–60 young artists as part of Things We Carry.
On October 3rd, the original works will be offered for auction, with opening bids beginning at $1,000.
Proceeds help carry this work into three more communities.
Can’t wait? You can bid now!
PEEK INTO OUR PROCESS
More than 200 young artists contributed to these collaborative works. Each canvas developed through a process of making, sharing, experimenting, and building on one another's ideas.
DON'T JUST LOOK. ADD YOUR MARK.
There are interactive elements throughout the exhibition:
Feeling Faces — Draw your own expressions on a mirror.
Treasured Things — Create a small clay sculpture of something you treasure.
Grief Link Chain — Add a story or memory.
Many opportunities to contribute, create, listen, and connect.
You don't have to be an artist. You just have to bring your own story.
WE PRACTICE CONNECTION BEFORE CRISIS.
THINGS WE CARRY is more than an exhibition. It reflects how we believe communities can prepare for difficult things—not by waiting for a crisis, but by practicing connection along the way.
Through art, storytelling, and intergenerational experiences, Rooster & Hen Resources creates opportunities for children and the adults around them to explore feelings, memory, loss, and connection together.
$12,000 = THREE MORE COMMUNITIES
More than 200 young artists helped create Things We Carry. Now, we're using this exhibition to help make more experiences like this possible.
Bring intergenerational grief education through art and story to more communities.