Most likely stemming from the love I had as a child for my little toy Fisher Price city and my deep desire for a just world at peace, this is a peek at a work that is available for libraries and other public institutions in New York State to borrow for display. Contact me at jenwojtowicz2011@gmail.com for availability, and check my Instagram, YouTube, and Patreon accounts for more information on The City of Dreams, Population: Everyone and other ongoing projects.

One main objective of The City of Dreams, Population:Everyone project is to use the magic that children and adults find in small worlds to spark the imagination and suggest possibilities for our own reality, and portray inclusion, diversity and representation. When children see themselves represented in any media – art, books, movies, toys- it sends them the message that they belong. The City of Dreams, Population: Everyone will invite the viewer to imagine themselves as a fully engaged character, and everyone as a neighbor and a friend.

The other main objective is to highlight areas of New York State’s past and current history through actual replicas of buildings, people, objects or symbols. I received permission to build replicas/representations of historical sites such as The Myers Residence, an important site in the history of the Underground Railroad in Albany, The Harriet Tubman House in Auburn NY,  Doris Records in Buffalo NY, an important community fixture since 1962, and The Frederick Allen Lodge, aka The Black Elks, the oldest surviving Black organization in Saratoga Springs NY. Historical figures Frederick Douglass and Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee are represented by monuments honoring their gifts to humanity. Jeremy Dennis, artist and historian, graciously gave permission for Ma’s House to be included in the project as well. Jeremy used the pandemic to turn his Grandma’s house on the Shinnecock Nation into a BIPOC artists retreat, gallery and community arts space. He even shared beautiful family photos to be included in the replica.

I was fortunate to connect with contemporary artists Ladie Ovila, Sabrina Kendall and my own husband Marcus Kwame Anderson around the project, and they generously contributed their own art to the project, as well as sharing their own stories, families and likenesses. Niio Perkins, bead artist and fashion designer extraordinaire, extended permission (and many reference photos!) for a replica of her storefront, as well as her fashions and jewelry on some teeny-tiny little people. Saratoga Springs artists Kim Vincent Harris and Ben Gleekman gave permission for replicas of the beautiful murals they painted at The Frederick Allen Lodge to be made. Alexus Brown of Saratoga BLM started and maintains the Saratoga Free Fridge, which the Lodge hosts on its porch. Bri Phillips is the artist who painted the original Saratoga Free Fridge.

The joy of reading quickly and organically became a theme in The City of Dreams, so highlighting organizations that are bringing books to children was a natural direction to explore. The Red Bookshelf of Albany, The Brooklyn Book Bodega, and Schenectady County Public Library’s STARS program all graciously agreed to be represented in the project, and provided me with SO MUCH art making joy!

Favorite independent local businesses, both past and present, were also a natural for the City of Dreams. Guru’s Supermarket, Riverview Orchards, Beirut Lebanese Restaurant and Pho Yum Vietnamese Restaurant are all places my family goes for food we love! Torres Ultimate Fitness Facility has been a positive mainstay in our child’s life as she embarks on her 8th year of TKD!

Two people who spread messages of love and peace to all people and always reach out a helping hand are Jun-San Yasuda, caretaker of The Grafton Peace Pagoda, and Chaplain Roberta – both great neighbors, even from afar.