Back in January, when I Am More hit all the north shore newspapers, I received a slew of exhibit requests from a wide variety of venues. One of those was Nichols Village Retirement Community in Groveland, MA after the Activities Director saw it in the Newburyport paper. It didn’t ring a bell at first, until I remembered the occasional mailer we’d receive, so I said, “Hey Iain, we’re invited to that place that’s been trying to get you to move in!”

With your donations this year we had exhibits in six malls in three states, our first church, a university, and the Massachusetts State House, a total of 55 exhibits to date, with one more to go for December! Portraits were added covering depression in the clergy, Alzheimer’s disease, the first collaborative portrait, an LGBTQ asylum seeker, bipolar disease as a senior, and the first I Am More portrait of a family, the 50th portrait of the collection, plus one more in the works. We added new Spanish translations, Helpful Number cards, and QR codes for easier reading. We were featured in just about every North Shore newspaper plus Boston and New England news. This was just this year! If you’d like to support I Am More in 2024 with a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor Ocean Alliance, go to their donation page and choose “I Am More” from the list of programs. We could not do this without you, and 2024 is already fully booked! Here’s a look back at 2023:

For our 55th exhibit we’ve gone to church! Back in January we were invited by the Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church in Danvers, MA to have a two month exhibit, because their sanctuary is also a gallery. After a busy year of mall exhibits this was a change of pace, as the modern church is tucked into the woods of the north shore. Instead of dodging shoppers and strollers to set up, we were trying not to disturb a grand piano and racks of hymnals.

Earlier this year Paul’s world collided with mine, thanks to I Am More subject, Karen. He describes the day below, which had a harrowing start, and ended with learning about this project AND learning that my husband studies whales, which is also what his father, Paul Sr., does. Since then we’ve visited the family homestead and his family has had the tour of Ocean Alliance. Despite the pain that this family has been through, and the challenges they are currently facing, watching the synchronicities flowing through their lives has been a little magical:

Yesterday morning we left my parents’ house in pouring rain with a UHaul van full of portraits on paper, not ideal. But as we drove from Vermont to New York through farmland and battlegrounds the skies became brighter and brighter, and when we pulled up to the door…it stopped. We were at Crossgates Mall in Albany, New York for our second I Am More exhibit.

I first received an email from Pam after she ran across an I Am More exhibit in a mall near her home. She was very struck by Seth’s essay about his bipolar disorder, and suggested that if I’d ever like a perspective from a different stage of life, she would be willing to share her journey. We met for the first time earlier this year, and she explained her history of treatments with honesty, warmth and humor, much like Seth. She said she would love to have her portrait set near the water in Gloucester, if possible. Reader, she did not know I live in Gloucester, so she was thrilled to have me escort her to my sunrise dog walk spot on the back shore:

I thought I was a pretty well-informed person, but Maurice’s story really stunned me. There are so many parts of our lives that we take for granted, and just a short distance away life can be very different. Even in locations we think we know, that seem like places for joy and rest. I’m so glad Maurice educated me, but I’m sorry that a person so full of gifts had to live through such persecution:

This weekend we carried a special portrait to our newest exhibit at The Shops at Chestnut Hill. Our friend Susie passed over the weekend after a brief illness, so it was only fitting to display her and her story after a life filled with terrible losses and tremendous joys.

This week NBC Boston aired a piece about the I Am More exhibit at Burlington Mall, and they had a special interest in one particular portrait. I was not aware that June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, so they asked if we could speak about my parents’ portrait, which had its first public unveiling in this exhibit.

A few months ago I was introduced to Aiden through The NAN Project, where he works as a peer mentor in Massachusetts high schools. His colleagues thought he would be a great fit for the project, and little did they know HOW GREAT. Not only was he incredibly thoughtful and kind, he was respectful of my time, interested in taking in all of the other subjects, gave his portrait a great deal of thought…but I could go on and on, he’s just ridiculously great. What I didn’t realize was his artistic talent, which took my breath away when I discovered it. And for that reason, we agreed to collaborate on the first joint portrait for the project, with each of us taking half, which started in a special place he likes to visit. We each got to have our big reveal to each other, which was refreshingly fun, and his words tie it all together beautifully: