Featured Student: Jennifer Hooper

Intermedia student Jennifer Hooper launched an ongoing project called “spark!” in November 2012. Her goal is to create ways for Bangor community members to express ideas about making Bangor a better place in fun, interesting, and provocative ways. “I want to create forms of community express that extend beyond traditional forms such as ballots, council meetings, surveys, or public hearings.”

The first “spark!” project was a community engagement at the downtown Bangor artwalk on November 16, 2012. Hooper created “fill-in-the-blank” labels that asked visitors to finish this sentence: “With a magic wand, I would make Bangor better by…” As the labels were completed, they were affixed to the storefront window of 81 Main Street (the future home of River City Cinema). The stickers remained on the storefront for several weeks, with blanks available for additional contributions. “The project has been very well received,” Hooper says. “People have been very enthusiastic and eager to participate.”

Hooper hopes that over time “spark!” will inspire and create change in Bangor, and she has ideas for future engagements. In the meantime, she posts a “spark! of the day” on Facebook and Twitter to reflect the ideas back that have been collected back to the community.

To connect with “spark!” check out these links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sparkbangor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sparkbangor

Website: http://www.spark-bangor.com