FRIEDMAN PLACE
Friedman Place is a home for 85 blind and visually impaired adults. For their approach to inclusive design, retrofitting the assisted living facility to support dignity and independence for their residents, they won the 2020 Design for a Better Chicago Impact grant created by the Design Museum of Chicago, The Department of Cultural Affairs, and NeoCon.
Murmur Ring produced a film about Friedman Place and portraits of its residents and staff to raise visibility about the organization and celebrate the diverse stories of residents from all walks of life and varying experiences and onset of lost sight.
The Film
Shot on location over several days in Summer of 2021, when residents were vaccinate and the facility reopened to public, the film will premier to a broader Chicago design audience at NeoCon in October 2021.
We were particularly inspired by the weaving studio, which operates as a creative haven for residents who are then able to sell their products on Etsy.
The film is available with audio description.
“We like to touch people’s hearts. The name of our group The African Starlight comes from my heritage and the African diaspora, but you can hear the soul in the accordion.”
Resident, who can play 73 instruments, says of the musical group she formed with fellow residents.
Here in the sensory garden, a resident feels a butterfly flutter on his hand for the first time.
CREDITS
MIRIAM DOAN
Photography
ERIC EBNER
Editing
RESIDENTS & STAFF OF FRIEDMAN PLACE
GRANT AWARDED BY
CITY OF CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
DESIGN MUSEUM OF CHICAGO
NEOCON