Michael Exhibit Brings Healing for Community Members

“Public Eye” Dear Michael Installation by Jason Hedden                                                         photography / Toni Hernandez

A city in need…   

Hurricane Michael was a category 5 storm that ravaged and stole a sense of peace from community members a little over a year ago. Due to winds hitting up to 162 MPH, the city was rocked to its core. Residents in Panama City and surrounding cities gathered to help one another immediately as the storm moved away. Neighbors helped neighbors, businesses opened despite their own lack of resources, and people jumped in to help whenever they could. The debris from the storm took months to clean up. Some residents still can’t be in their homes due to condemned homes or waiting for repairs to finish up.  Because of this, our city needed healing. Something that would bring closure from this major hurricane.

From the artist…

Despite the trauma that people endured from this storm, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Jason Hedden, and with help from other artist local artist all contributed and designed a phenomenal exhibit called Michael. This exhibit covers all the emotions of each survivor of Hurricane Michael. Using pieces of storm damage debris, embroidery, photographs and handmade pottery all of the artist were able to capture not only the experiences but most importantly the enduring fight to keep moving forward. Some of the artist include:

• Pavel Amromin
  

  Caleb Erskine looks at “Rest Stop” by Jayson Kretzer                       /Dana R.

• Christon Anderson
• Sarah Burris
• Heather Clements
• John “JD” Daniel
• Jayson Kretzer
• Tammy Marinuzzi
• Heather Parker
• Margaret Webster
• Mandy Yourick

“It was going to be okay…”

When asked the first thing to came to his mind, Caleb Erskine said that the exhibit was completely accurate. Especially Jason Hedden’s Poem that is projected onto his piece titled “Dear Michael”. Caleb said that usually abstract art is something he doesn’t quite understand. Consequently, after going through such a traumatic event and reading the poems that each artist wrote, he understood what they meant. One piece titled Rest Stop by Jayson Kretzer drew his attention. Caleb said, “The birds were the first thing I heard after the hurricane, and that was God’s way of telling me it was going to be okay.” 

Memories…

Gulf Coast State College student, Toni Hernandez, recommends that community members should go and see this exhibit. Toni said that “…overall it was a beautiful display and it’s [nice] to see the different types of interpretations of it.” Again, the installation from Jason Hedden brought back memories of not just the storm itself but reminded Toni of the good things that he learned from it. Toni says that people get busy with life and doing their own thing but after the storm neighbors helped one another, “…yeah we had no power, no anything really, but what it did do was it bought us all together again...we talked to neighbors we’d never really talk to before.” After the storm, they didn’t have power or water, but in that time of crisis it brought their community together.  

In conclusion, the Michael Art exhibit represents to Gulf Coast State College and the residents of Panama City a hope for our future as a community. But above all, that we are not victims of this monstrous beast, but rather the survivors that tell the story of the blood, sweat, and tears we endured for generations to come. (Toni Hernandez) Michael Exhibit will bring you to tears because it represents the community and what it means to be 850 STRONG. 

The Michael Exhibit  is open to the public at the Amelia Center Main Gallery (Room 112) on the Gulf Coast Campus between now and November 8, Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm.

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