Designed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Chester Made website is an expansive online resource featuring photos, video, audio, and article archives about the ever-evolving arts and culture community-based venture. The first five digital stories are introduced on the website’s homepage and represent another way that Chester Made is making Chester.
Chester Made is a humanities-based initiative to celebrate and promote arts and culture in Chester, PA and harness their power as a force for community revitalization. Chester Made is a project of MJ Freed Theater and Pennsylvania Humanities Council, with funding from Spring Point Partners. According to Chester Made Project Manager Ulysses Slaughter, the introduction of digital stories is an innovative way to expand the project’s mission in the current social environment.
Twyla "Ms. T" Simpkins is the founder and director of The Yes We Can Achievement & Cultural Center, and has led numerous Chester Made history programs, including the 2018 humanities summer Camp LegaCy: Making My Museum. In this story, Ms. T reminisces about what has always made Chester home to her.
“We’ve been working on this project for nearly a year,” said Slaughter. “Twelve months ago we had no idea we’d be at a moment in history when online visibility would be crucial. But here we are and ready with some great digital stories about Chester by Chester, for Chester. We look forward to collecting more stories each month.”
The first series of the Chester Digital Stories focuses on why storytellers stay in Chester. Residents, including journalists and teachers, share their fondest memories and observations about living in Chester. Each story is accompanied by personal photographs, with an average length of three minutes. Upcoming stories will focus on a variety of topics including social life, travel, food and education.
The Chester Made website also includes a section for anyone to submit their idea for a Chester Digital story. https://chestermade.org/tell-us-your-story-idea/
About the Pennsylvania Humanities Council
The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) puts the humanities in action to create positive change. PHC programs and grants bring Pennsylvanians together to build avenues for civic involvement and community development, and for youth and adult learners to strengthen skills for school, work, and personal improvement. An independent partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, PHC is part of a network of 56 state humanities councils that spans the nation and U.S. jurisdictions. Learn more at pahumanities.org.