I live in a building that served as a senior facility for retired Denver Public School teachers. The building's history and architecture are compelling. Listening to stories from the few elderly tenants who remain after the sale of the building to a real estate corporation, I feel nostalgia for a time and place I did not experience. Archive DESCI is a photographic installation documenting the changing narrative of the former Denver Educational Senior Citizens Incorporated (DESCI) building to a commercially owned apartment complex. The photographs are an archive of the community that once was.

Researching, I uncovered decades of photographs and other ephemera of the DESCI building and its residents: birthdays, remembrances, holiday parties, daily luncheons, board meetings, building updates, and more. Teachers are lifelong learners, and these chronicles of their shared experiences reflect their philosophy and practice. The historical images are grainy and lack sharp focus; their desaturated color quality is an evocation. Showcasing DESCI’s past brings attention to the present.

The work in this installation includes images from the DESCI archives juxtaposed with photographs of the spaces as they are now. Some of my building's architectural and design elements have been untouched since 1963. What I found from photographing the current shared space was…nothing. Rooms that were once full of people, movement, and chatter are now hardly used. The present-day spaces are empty of personality and sound. The building’s once vibrant community areas are uncared for. This absence speaks loudly of our value of community and care. Looking at the photos of the former residents, I am envious of their citizenry.