The Stoop 🧱

Stooping, a verb 🏢

Having spent a chunk of my childhood growing up in Brooklyn, I have a fondness for stoops. Stoops offer a place to sit, rest, recharge, reset, and watch the world go by, while resting our weary feet after hours of city walking. Now that my daughters live in the big apple they too have embraced the art of stooping, without any encouragement from me. It happened organically! The apple really does not fall far from the tree when it comes to stooping in the big apple.🍎

The other day I heard a snippet of an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker and Alex Cooper on Call her Daddy, and in the interview SJP was talking about some boys sitting on her stoop and the connection she made with them. That random serendipitous moment validated my brewing idea! Stoops inspire and create connection.

I believe one of the biggest issues we have in our country is related to the bubbles we live in. If you don't live in a very urban area, it's very easy to only interface with people who are a lot like you. Suburbs are not known for their diversity, nor is country living. As we have moved further away from each other, we have become less connected to each other. Everywhere we live it's possible to never leave our homes and to still have all of our wants/needs met. Thanks to Instacart, Grubhub, DoorDash, UberEats, Amazon, etc., everything we could ever want/need arrives to us with a mere credit card on file and a click.

I believe we need to be connecting with each other to bridge our divisions. Us and them can no longer exist when we know there are things we share in common. We need micro-conversations with strangers that lift us up and to look in the eyes of a stranger and smile. We need to connect with each other, with people from all walks of life, with people of all ages and colors, to remember what we all have in common.

We used to be a melting pot, then we were updated to a salad bowl, and now I believe we have been downgraded to a lunchable, each processed food group separated by a disposable plastic line.

My concept is to create a stoop experience for people of all walks of life to sit, rest, and enjoy. Physically, I'm envisioning the façade of a building with a stoop, exactly as you would walk by in Brooklyn: bricks, small flight of steps, a pretend door. Sitting on the stoop will be the experience. There will be a few simple rules that can be worked out to inspire organic connection, like: joining a person you don’t already know, spending at least five minutes, asking a stranger next to you at least one question. There can be rules for engagement and positive connection.

I imagine this at museums across the country. Perhaps even in some well-maintained parks? As I live down the street from The Cummer - this is where I want to start. Every time I visit The Cummer I'm amazed by how egalitarian it is. I'm a lover of egalitarian experiences, like parks, beaches, mountains, and anything/everything nature-based or art-based that everyone can enjoy, regardless of your financial situation. There are so many free days throughout the month at The Cummer making art accessible to all - a game changer for community building. The Cummer adds immense value to the Jacksonville living experience.

I am presently working on moving my vision forward. I’d like The Stoop Project to go viral! Do you know anyone who works at a museum who would be interested in this concept? I’m open to all leads for connection. Thanks in advance! 🙏🏻🖼️🙏🏻

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