There’s a room in Seattle’s Central District that’s between lives.
It used to be a strip-mall Subway. But until next June, when a private developer will tear it down, it’s a makeshift audio/visual studio where anybody with a story to tell about the neighborhood can come in and record it, have a portrait made, and see a local artist sketching a planned mural. The project is called Shelf Life, by Seattle filmmaker Jill Freidberg, and every Sunday, Chieko Phillips and Leilani Lewis hang out there to welcome people and help record interviews (shelflifestories.com).
“Maybe the humanness is the impact, even for the people who aren’t participating,” Phillips said. “Just know something good is happening. Because to do nothing almost seems like giving up or giving in.”
