Local artist Jeannine Harkleroad was selected as a partnership artist in 2022. The idea for her project: “I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You. I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You”, stemmed from a realization that during the pandemic and as current violent acts throughout the world continue to take lives, we all are required to think about death a lot more than before.

Jeannine states: “With each death, a voice is silenced and a history loses its details. With each death, something isn’t getting asked, and something isn’t being told”.

To address this societal concern, Jeannine worked with one of her art classes at Granby High School to construct a listening stage upon a trailer with two seats- one for asking questions and one for telling something. Stage curtains were created using repurposed clothes from local thrift stores.

Popcorn was provided as participants approached the stage and were encouraged to ask one another something or tell one another something they had never shared with that person before in hopes of getting one of those questions asked or one of those things told that may have been looming on their mind. The idea behind the two person only exchange is that a sort of secret is being shared as if whispering something to someone at a movie theater.