The People’s Living Room
Welcome to The People’s Living Room, a community-led space of kinship, memory, and reclamation. Here, participants are invited to share personal and ancestral stories through portraits and oral histories that honor the resilience, beauty, and depth of our communities across the Caribbean and its diaspora. Each contribution becomes part of The People’s Family Album, a living, ever-evolving archive of our collective memory and imagination.
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM + IN ERNEST (2025)
(C) 2022
As part of the In Ernest Artist in Residence program, The People’s Living Room served as a living extension of the exhibition’s mission to honor bicultural and intergenerational stories within the Caribbean Diaspora. Rooted in narrative healing, this community-led storytelling and portrait experience invites participants to share personal and ancestral memories through oral histories and liberatory portrait sessions.
These contributions become part of The People’s Family Album, a growing archive that celebrates the richness, resilience, and beauty of our lives. Within the In Ernest installation, The People’s Living Room creates space for connection, remembrance, and cultural continuity, uplifting the voices of grandparents, elders, and descendants whose stories shape our collective legacy.
The People’s Living Room
Part of the In Ernest Artist in Residence Program
By Stefanie D. Belnavis | @thediahannproject
Videography by Nickii Kane Creates – https://www.nickiikanecreates.com/home
The People’s Living Room is a powerful storytelling and portrait experience that lived at the heart of the In Ernest exhibition, an immersive month-long installation held at the Cultural Equity Incubator in April 2025. Rooted in narrative healing and spatial justice, this community-led activation invited participants to share personal and ancestral memories through oral histories and liberatory portrait sessions.
Each contribution became part of The People’s Family Album, a living archive honoring the resilience, beauty, and cultural legacy of the Caribbean Diaspora. Within the context of In Ernest, The People’s Living Room became a sacred space for remembrance, reflection, and connection, uplifting the voices of our elders and honoring the intergenerational stories that shape who we are.
EP 1 – ABEO
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM | THE DIAHANN PROJECT
EP 2 – JA’HARI
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM | THE DIAHANN PROJECT
EP 3 – EBONY + MELODY
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM | THE DIAHANN PROJECT
MORE EPISODES COMING SOON...
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM + BAMSFEST (2024)
(C) 2022
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM + JUST BOOK-ISH OPENING (2024)
(C) 2022
THE PEOPLE'S LIVING ROOM + DS4SI
(C) 2022
The People’s Living Room
The People’s Living Room is a community-led storytelling and portrait experience that uplifts diverse voices and fosters connection. Each shared story and portrait becomes part of The People’s Family Album, a living archive preserving the resilience and legacy of the community.