Dear Hope Street

It’s been a little (long) while since we sent some Dear Hope Street postcards.
But I had to send some from Esperance – a town in southern Western Australia which was named after a ship called Espérance, which means “Hope” in French.

Population about 14,000. White sands.
Clear water. Windy & Wonderful.
A small set of 26 postcards, made at The Cannery Arts Centre, are ready to fly out!

It has been lovely to dip back into this project & see the beautiful, blunt, creative and perceptive drawings and writings of children again.

Have a read and a look at them here.

Fingers crossed for some replies xx

We have responses from all over the world.
It reminds us how big and small the world is*.

Immediately after my last post we got our first postcard reply from our New Zealand cousins, #1784. And you’ll never believe what her name is!!
#1697 is from a six year old in Melbourne.
Another from Watermans Bay: #1805 with notes about the neighbours.
#1865 came from a lovely family in New South Wales.
And #1888 has a few fans.#1789 made it to the fridge!
Riona who replied to #1712 is delightful.
Beatrice, our first respondent from France, explains why her house is green at #1688.
#1804 appreciated Jaxon’s noticings.
Stacey replied to #1700 and answered the Kiwi question.
We really hope Jaxon replies to Joe who is 79yrs old at #1692

Responses like these at #1820 make my and everyone’s involved day. Thank you so much Robert for letting us know where this postcard landed. It reminds us that the small things can be so important.

Raheema in the UK appreciated her postcard #1739
Ana from Portugal answered all the questions on her postcard #1859
Nathan from New Zealand describes well his family’s life in New Zealand for #1788
Marion from the USA was surprised with her postcard #1875
And our first response from Israel and a beautiful offer from them at #1844

Thank you so much to all our responders.
And we hope all your children are checking furiously.
We know, at least, Jade did. You too can respond like she did.

Till again soon.
x Alex.

* Queue: Carl Sagan

Photographs taken by Ryan Ammon

From Watermans Bay, WA to Crook, UK the postcards have landed!

Our very special first was #1892 from Denise & Mark in Watermans Bay. They told us about their dog, Maggie, who we wish was captured by the google-street-view car!
#1883 from West Footscray, VIC loved their stripey door.
#1714 from Preston, VIC was actually in Perth this year for the first time.
#1854 from a lovely couple told us their house may not exist next time we do Dear Hope Street (!)
#1885 liked her drawing.
#1713 asks an amusing question.Pip from #1725 & #1761  received two and kindly responded to both.(and we apologise that shegot

two – a blip in the system!)It’s replies like Tracey at #1695 (our first from overseas!) that make thisproject all warm and fuzzy. Thank you Tracey!
And #1734 was sent to a Vet and has the staff all loved the drawing. They’ve even shared it online – which shows our modern day “messages in a bottle” can reach far.

Thank you to all our quick responders. Truly.

x Alex.

Five days at Karrinyup = 221 postcards ready for the world.

They are now all uploaded & those that need translation will be done while they’re in transit :)

It’s now time. To wait.
And check. And hope.

If you “follow” our blog (link on homepage), then you will receive an email with the responses we receive every 10 or so.

Here. We. Go.
x Alex.

Hello,
Just an FYI that Dear Hope Street will be sending more postcards in a week or so. The City of Stirling (Perth) is hosting us at Karrinyup Shopping Centre.

Dates: Monday 10th to Friday 14th July
Ages: 7 to 12 years
Cost: $5

You can book here.

We’ve been busy finding new houses on Hope Streets (439 to be exact).

It’d be lovely to see some returnees from Awesome Festival a few years ago.
Or maybe their younger siblings.

We look forward to seeing & sharing what is made!

Much warmth & hope,

Alex.

This little batch of answers quite beautifully captures the “child within” that sometimes recipients find when they are writing responses. We have cheekiness. We have specific answers to questions. And even a Mr Sparklepants…

#1484 is gentle and answers the question.
#1583 like their card.
As does #1528
If #1585 came to Australia, they’d go to Steve Irwin’s Zoo.
#1666 is another where it was passed onto a son or daughter to investigate the internet. We like these ones.
#1438 has children that like to row, play soccer and dancing.
What a story at #1431 !
#1618 received cheek for their cheek. And makes me want to sit in the elderberry tree!
#1560 describes their view.
#1601 was the first reply we’ve had from France for a very long time. And such a lovely one!
I think #1444 was a little surprised by the postcard.
#1471 likes the tree. And I apologise that this was their second – the system must have failed somewhere…(!)
#1649 was a mystery for its recipient.
#1509 is lovely and answers all the food questions.
#1570 got a response from Mr Sparklepants!

And #973 is still remembered. And treasured. It sounds like it arrived at a serendipitous moment.

x Alex.

#1548 makes mention of the three little pigs. 
#1524 got a response from someone who’s 93!!! Imagine living in a house for 63 years!
#1395 , #1462, #1539 & #1536 are short and sweet.
#1472 explains the changes to their house since the google car went past.
#1543 think their picture looks just like their house. (I like this picture a lot too!)
#1612 makes the fridge!
As will #1579 – which we know is an old miner’s cottage & about to turn 100 years old…
#1491 got a smiley face back :)
#1547 was excited by the project. (We remember the boy who drew this postcard decided he really didn’t want to write anything. Maybe he will now? )
#1581 made her smile.
I think #1582 have excellent names for their pets.
#1593 was our first from New Zealand. And they’ve let us know it’s been snowing there!
#1590 has revealed I may have made an error in the system, but the postman seems to be taking care of it!
#1677 got reviewed by all family members.
Our first one from Adelaide to the UK was #1681 and was received by a four year old.
#1584 embraces the fact the postcard is from Australia. We like Bob.
#1432 was happy.
As was #1598. Despite maybe a different house being drawn?
And the New Zealanders at #1440 have been to Adelaide :)

And lastly we wanted to share with you this little bit from an ABC show here for children called Behind The News.
Some of you might see your postcards in the background!

We had an amazing time at Come Out Festival in Adelaide.
9 days of workshops with schools and families.
Tucked away in the City Library above Rundle Mall.

Conversations. Drawing. Writing and more.
Look at all the postcards that were made!

And now we wait. For replies.

But in the mean time, it looks like our postcards from Sydney Festival have only just arrived in Mexico & Brazil.
#1300 begins with “dear friend”
#1345 now sits on a desk.
#776  does have a 7 yr old living there.

And conversations continue on #1105 #1099 & #879
And one from Awesome Festival has written back from Chile! That’s 18 months later!

Expect more posts  from us very soon…
x alex

Six weeks since our last post.
Things have definitely slowed.
But in another month things will be ramping up again as we are going to Adelaide’s Come Out Festival. Are you from Adelaide? You should come! I look forward to the moment when a child that has received a postcard comes to a workshop to make one too!

#1115 has had two sets of pictures sent to it.  One was even a picture of their house they drew ages ago!
#987 wishes great days all around.
We’re glad #1106 ended up in Courtney’s letter box.
#1247 is Angelina’s Coffee. We always think its so lovely for businesses to respond and imagine them sitting on the noticeboard…
#789 is from “a small country with many views…with very windy and rainy weather”, can you guess?
#959 comes from Finland.
And #1134 is a lovely response from Hungary.
We like the drawing for #1112 & the response too.
Dear #934, and all other postcards mentioning weather:  I am wearing a beanie and scarf in Australia as we speak.

And many delightful back and forths here:
#1114 #1309 #1091 #1085 #1236 (hello bella & peaches!) #1102 #1015 #798 #935 #1003 #1307

 
Oh. And I’m trying to crowd-fund another “children reaching adults they don’t know” project called Small Voices Louder. I don’t crowdfund often (the last one was three years ago) – so if you have a few dollars I’d really appreciate it. Every dollar you donate is also matched by the Australian Government – which is amazing! It’s also tax deductible and makes you an supporter of the arts, which will make you feel warm and fuzzy allll day!

Please have a look here.

The flow has ebbed. But not the enthusiasm or answering of questions!

At #764 The ginger restaurant has clarified things & the postcard now sits on the wall.
While #1236 made it to the fridge.
Chrissy at #1050 has promised to add colour to her yard.
The family at #1190 are new residents and have a new new member to their family.
Shaba is full of praise at #836
#842 has been claimed. Simply.
A Caitlin coincidence at #880 (we also like Caitlin’s bin)
An insight into Denmark at #1019
#968 has a polite response.
WE GOT A RESPONSE TO #1 !! This was our very first postcard sent over 18 months ago! Thank you Jason for replying, all this time later :)
#935 is, well, just delightful. We laughed when we saw the 5 minute later add-on. Easy mistake to make!
Our first response from Brazil! at #892A
For number #1209 we needed Google Translate & it’s lovely.
And I think Denise at #1173 is still a-wondering how Conor found a picture of her house…

And our Canadian postman has responded again & let us know where the postcard has ended up. Which we think is a lovely place for it to stay.

And for those hardcore followers.
These are the conversations that have grown since our last post:

#993 #963 #798 #1118 #879 #1063 #1321 #794 #896A

And. Beeston has officially become our #1 fan town. With an article appearing on page 3 of their rather excellent publication The Beestonian.

Till next time…
x Alex