Introduction

The post office is in the headlines: a new postmaster general, the approaching election, mail delays. For most citizens, we stick a stamp on a letter and get a package from Amazon, but how often do we think about the postal service or what it would be like without it? In this time of COVID -19, with efforts to defund and privatize the USPS , as elections grow closer, it’s time to fill that gap in thinking and get a closer view of the Post Office and postal workers. We’re calling this project “Postal Portraits.”

The voices will come from a variety of locales, be it on a reservation, an urban neighborhood, or a small town. The stories and moments for this series of short films might be collected by a mail carrier with an iPhone delivering medicines and social security checks to a senior or a filmmaker with a parent or friend who works at the post office. “Postal Portraits” will be accessible on YouTube, Facebook and other social media.

Call to postal workers

Are you interested in picking up your smartphone to share your experiences of working for the post office? We’re looking for postal employees to give us an inside view.

It means filling in the gaps, telling your story with your words:

What do you want us to know about the PO and the services it provides?

What don’t most of us know about the post office and the day to day work you do?

What are you seeing now?

What does defunding and slowing down the PO mean?

What is your experience and perspective on mail in ballots?

We want to collect and post this on social media.

Let us know if you want to take part, have contracts to share or feedback on the concept.

If you’re interested, we’ll send in on instructions for filming and sharing footage.

Postal Portraits

Artchange