'Hello. How are you?' Sign in front of Tacoma home aims to bring neighbors together



TACOMA  --  It’s a concept rooted in the American dream.  A corner property. A craftsman home.  But an old house in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood is breathing new life post by post.

Anida Yoeu Ali and Masahiro Sugano are both artists. They bought their home in Tacoma back in 2016 and moved in with their three young daughters.

“Usually art happens in a museum or institutions that are walled up and a lot of people in my neighborhood here do not go to those spaces,” says Anida.

So they brought the art to the people.. Tearing down the old chain link fence and replacing it with an even older phrase.

“’Hello. How are you?’ It’s a greeting,” says Anida.

The goal is to inspire community; connection and conversation.

“Not only about our neighborhood and what’s happening here in Tacoma, in which there is definitely gentrification, there is a rapid development rate that’s happening here,” says Anida.

At a time when so much divides us, these bold letters are a bridge.

“Building walls, like furthering division, we are trying to break down boundaries and barriers,” says Anida.

And if location is the key to real estate, this corner lot, across the street from an elementary school and community center, is perfect for a daily audience.

“Being part of something that helps you stay rooted, that helps you understand that there are other things that are much bigger than yourself,” says Anida.

It’s a new twist on an old standard.

“We didn’t want it to be ‘Hello, comma, how are you? We wanted hello. How are you?” says Anida.

If art is not what you see, but what you can make others see, then maybe, this artwork is meant to help us see each other.