Project Statement
A chair. A memory. A place once called home.
In her ongoing project, Shema Semsar, the artist traveling from Europe, travels with a vintage Raleigh-made chair through the Raleigh, connecting stories to spaces. Residents are invited to choose a meaningful spot— a quiet corner where they first found cozy as a newcomer, a first apartment, a favorite café, a student house filled with laughter, the side of a lake where dreams once began.
They sit how they wish. They pose as they remember.
The only rule: honor the chair, honor the moment.
The chair itself, crafted here in Raleigh, carries the spirit of lived experience in the city. It anchors each photograph in something lasting—a trace of belonging, a piece of Raleigh’s own living soul. This is a project about memory, place, and the invisible threads that tie us to where we have been.
It will grow, one story at a time.
Those who live in Raleigh—and carry its spaces inside them—are warmly invited to reach out and take a seat.
In her ongoing project, Shema Semsar, the artist traveling from Europe, travels with a vintage Raleigh-made chair through the Raleigh, connecting stories to spaces. Residents are invited to choose a meaningful spot— a quiet corner where they first found cozy as a newcomer, a first apartment, a favorite café, a student house filled with laughter, the side of a lake where dreams once began.
They sit how they wish. They pose as they remember.
The only rule: honor the chair, honor the moment.
The chair itself, crafted here in Raleigh, carries the spirit of lived experience in the city. It anchors each photograph in something lasting—a trace of belonging, a piece of Raleigh’s own living soul. This is a project about memory, place, and the invisible threads that tie us to where we have been.
It will grow, one story at a time.
Those who live in Raleigh—and carry its spaces inside them—are warmly invited to reach out and take a seat.
Written by Alyeh Mehin-Goldbaum,
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Arizona
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Arizona