A Sense of Self
Artist
Michele Asselin
About the Project
A Sense of Self explores the impact of nourishing a person’s dignity and sense of self-worth. Michele Asselin asked fifteen youth to identify someone who fostered their self-worth and significance. Each then photographed and interviewed their subject under Michele’s guidance. The works were combined onto a street banner displayed during the City’s annual community celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The project was inspired by Dr. King’s 1967 speech ‘What is Your Life’s Blueprint?’:
“Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you’re nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.’”
A Sense of Self, displayed for one day, resides in the hearts and minds of our youth and our City.
About the Artists
Michele Asselin is a photographer and public artist based in Los Angeles. Nationally celebrated, her work explores the impact of social constructs on human experience through editorial photo techniques. Her recent projects include Forward Motion (2019) for the Los Angeles Metro on display in LA’s Union Station and Clubhouse Turn, a book exploring the final days of Inglewood’s Hollywood Park Racetrack published in 2020 by Angel City Press. Her editorial photographs have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and major publications in the US and internationally.
Inglewood teen artists Billy Derrick Blair, Elliott Anthony Bourgeois, Briann Byrd, Karla Chavez, Curtis D Davis, Joshu’ah Joel Harris, Sadira Hayes, Asiah Hunt, Ashley Janae Jacque, Jennifer Jones, Desiray Page, Sonia Sedeño-Mendoza, Drea Williams, Olivia Williams and Ricardo Williams participated in the project.
Project Details
Date: 2020
Collection: City of Inglewood Time-Based Projects
Medium: Social Practice and Photojournalism
Material: Printed Vinyl banner
Size: 6’ x 130’ long
Debut Location:
Inglewood’s annual Dr. King Community Celebration
Market Street at Queen Street
Inglewood, California 90301
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