On Memory: Design Brigade Week 4.
Midpoint Updates
Meeting with the City
On Wednesday, we had our midpoint client check-in with the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The meeting provided us with feedback and momentum to continue pushing this project forward.
In the meeting, we presented [slides here] a summary of our work so far. We delineated how we went from our original design challenge (Design a memorial, digital + physical, to commemorate the impact of Covid-19 on New Haven) to our redefined challenge (How can we design a space centered on social justice for those affected by Covid-19 in New Haven?) By asking ‘how’ in our redefined challenge, we are asking for guidance and inclusion, the voices of New Haven’s residents will shape and give meaning to the ‘memorial.’
Along with showing research and data, we informed the City of our meetings with community and organization leaders that pivoted our design approach. We discussed how these connections allowed us to formulate and refine our network, interested parties, and the resources available to get this project moving. We also emphasized that through these networks, we are able to gather individual voices and their thoughts on what it means to ‘memorialize’ this moment.
The Department of Cultural Affairs is supportive of and dedicated to the redefined project; they are looking to implement our advice and information that we gather from the community. We will create a range of feasible and impactful options to present the City. In the next couple of weeks, we are excited to learn about similar initiatives that are in place by the City and collaborate between projects.
We are also excited to be connected to a number of city resources and officials who will be helpful in our process. We discussed the possibility of creating an advisory committee of community members and leaders to continue this project after the Design Brigade concludes.
Continued Community Engagement
1) Archive of Liberation Day! March and Teach-In Post-it Responses
We uploaded over a hundred post-it note responses from Juneteenth in New Haven to our website. We noticed that people were interested in green/park, community, and art spaces; they want future generations to remember this time of pandemic and protest along the dimensions of transformation and resilience.
2) Survey responses from Tower One/East Assisted Living
This week we received responses from Tower One, which gave us insight into the 65+ population, how answers varied from those of the Teach-In, and how COVID affected this community differently. There were similar themes of words related to outdoor spaces, isolation, and gathering. After this, we also generated an additional survey for future responses.
3) Correspondence with Newhallville Community Action Network.
We are working closely with the NCAN, in which the approach is three-fold: collaborate with 1) management teams, 2) our alders, and 3) local organizations. There are several ways we will do this, including email blasts, flyers, paper surveys, and online discussions.
Design Ideas
Narrative Drawings, Mapping, and Digital Space
Each week, new designs emerge. To document and expand on the future physical manifestations of “On Memory,” we will illustrate a series of project narratives. These aim to lay out the development of possible memorial ideas and the potential sites they can flourish in. For example, two themes that came up frequently on the Teach In post-it boards were: more public space for art and safe spaces devoted to community healing. One set of drawing narratives will therefore show the capacity of using existing parks, a more budget-conscious and feasible route, while another set will outline the creation of new parks, expanding public access to land. In drawing out the ways these themes can take on a physical form, we hope to present memorial proposals that are achievable.
As these visual narratives develop, they will also be diagrammed on a map of New Haven. The map will become a resource that indicates possible locations for the reimagining of urban spaces as blank canvases. This includes sites for murals, ground painting, and temporary structures of memorial (ex: fences that can be used to affix art or tie ribbons onto).
It is becoming increasingly apparent as this project progresses that the need for a permanent physical space of memorial is necessary. The commitment to a digital space however cannot be overlooked. The pandemic has changed the way people gather and communicate with each other upon losing a family member or friend. We remain committed to planning a digital manifestation of a memorial that provides an immediate space to remember the lives that have been lost and assist those who have been affected by COVID.
Things to Consider
Nothing we are engaging with is static, and for that reason, we believe that it is important to be similarly active in our understanding of the situation. As we move forward in this project, we’d like to pause and re-examine the following in response to the comments we received from Mayor Elicker’s office, Adriane Jefferson and the Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as the community organizations we met with this week.
Diversity
While COVID-19, systemic racism, police brutality and the other systems of inequality are primarily impacting Black and Brown communities, our outreach must be all-encompassing. Coronavirus exacerbated a lot of the injustices faced by many minorities and low-income families in New Haven; Nursing homes, such as the Mary Wade Home, and Latinx neighborhoods have also been hit very hard by the pandemic. Similarly, any response to this moment must also engage with the healthcare workers charged with caring for the sick and elderly on the frontlines of this virus.
If we are to coordinate an advisory committee, we will bring together a committee that includes all the voices of this moment.
Balancing Design and Outreach
However, we understand that the time constraints of this internship narrow the scope in what we are able to gather and produce. If we are to create a series of designs and fundraising mock-ups, we cannot only conduct community outreach (and vice versa). To this end, we hope to enlist in the help of our community partners and the resources of the City to help with this process.
We will focus on deep engagement with a limited number of partners while acknowledging that there are people that have yet to be engaged. We will continue reaching out to as many people as possible, while working closely with our more established contacts to produce meaningful designs that can be brought to a larger audience for feedback and input.
Being the Bridge
We are aware of the tenuous relationship between New Haveners and the City. We hope to navigate this by serving as a bridge between them. We understand that individuals have different opinions about what this “memorial” should be and how it can represent this moment, so we are committed to listening and relaying concerns or frustrations to the best of our ability. Our role is to collect and design, and we hope that the people of New Haven can help us find the focus of what this space should be.
The Pandemic
As has been apparent since the beginning, outreach amid the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests is difficult work. In lieu of in-person meetings, we are reliant on our network of community leaders to help gather feedback and testimony from those they serve. We are respectful of people’s priorities, and understanding of the limitations social distancing puts on community outreach.
Next Steps
- Designs: We will produce three paradigms of “memorial” to present to our point people in the City and our connections in the community. We hope that by creating a series of designs, we can gather concrete feedback on the scope and direction this space can take. Monuments across the nation are being rethought today, which makes this work of design all the more important. We are committed to the idea that people need a permanent space to reflect on this moment, and all the inequalities that came to head as a result of Covid.
- Continued community engagement: We will continue approaching individuals and organisations with our surveys and blurbs to expand our outreach and get the word out. We hope to continue serving as a bridge for the many voices and ideas.
- Preparing for and presenting at the July 6 Cultural Affairs Commission meeting.
Additional Resources
15 public art projects that boldly advocate for social justice. Mashable. https://mashable.com/2016/09/24/public-art-social-good/
Can a Design Museum Change the World? Design Observer. https://designobserver.com/feature/can-a-design-museum-change-the-world/39633/
Columbus Statue Removed, Amid Joy, Jabs. New Haven Independent. https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/colmbus/
It’s Time to Define What “Good” Means in Our Industry. Design Observer. https://designobserver.com/feature/its-time-to-define-what-good-means-in-our-industry/40021
