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First Childhood Memory, 1999

What is your earliest childhood memory? In your first language, please write your name, your age at the time of your first memory, the town and country in which it took place, and a drawing of your memory, on a piece of paper. Submissions are accepted with both hand-written text and drawings. Please mail your memory to:

First Childhood Memory Project
211 Church Hill Road
Augusta, Maine 04330 USA

Since 1999, Buotte has been pursuing the first moment of an individual's conscious world, the very first childhood memory. The inception for this project arrived one night while he was trying to fall asleep. It was during this phase that a series of images kept recurring in his mind. I did not know what this was. After repeated nightly occurrences, I realized that it was my earliest childhood memory. The next day I wrote the details and drew a sketch. My mother confirmed many of the details I recounted. I asked my family to write and draw their first childhood memory. Something magical was happening.

Initially, the project was a private investigation. It soon progressed to colleagues, co-workers, fellow artists and friends into the public realm. At least 1,500 people have been asked to participate. There are currently over 600 submissions in 32 languages in the collection. They are received personally or thru the postal service and they have been drawn on paper, napkins, paper plates, placemats, and envelopes. The submissions are archived and indexed chronologically, to include participant's name, age at time of memory, year if possible, place collected, language, place of memory, and a brief explanation of the event. This is a life-long project. The First Childhood Memory Project has been exhibited in Portland, Maine, Paris, and Lucerne, Switzerland.