Artist
Lee Osorio

Project Title
Happily Ever After in Lumpkin, GA

Grant Amount
$1,000

Website
http://www.leeosorio.com/

Project Description

Happily Ever After in Lumpkin, GA asks the question, “How do you keep hope alive in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds?” through the story of a queer boy’s quest for love in an unlikely place…an ICE detention center in Southeast Georgia. Happily is a one-person show that begins as a fantasy, meet-cute rom-com between a young artist and a recently detained Dreamer, but grows into the true story of the inhabitants of Lumpkin.  With his Idea Capital grant Lee Osorio will travel back to his former hometown for a month to interview residents of the now dying town, detainees in the detention center that was supposed to save it, and staff of the Southern Poverty Law Center that are working to save them. While in Lumpkin, Lee will volunteer with Refugio, an organization that provides services for detainees and housing for their families while they visit.  The interviews and his work will serve as source material for Happily, which Lee hopes to premier in 2019.