Sharing 'Tales From The Porch' with her photos and poetry

Aitina Fareed-Cooke went all over the city of Buffalo collecting stories and taking pictures of people on their porches. She says she "just thought about how the porch is like a family's sanctuary." The result of her efforts can be seen through October 9th at Upton Hall at SUNY Buffalo. The exhibit called 'Tales From The Porch' incorporates video, still images and poetry. Aitina says "each story that was told to me I translated into poetic form." Aitina's exhibition is part of the continuing 'Anne Frank Project'. She says she thought about wanting to be a part of the project back when she was a student here, adding "I was like, I really want to be a part of this and then boom, years later I am." Aitina says that this journey reminded her that we are all more alike than different "it helped me understand that I was right. We all have this humanistic side to us-just living our lives and trying to do the best that we can."