DIARY DISKS

DIARY DISKS IN NEW HAVEN

Diary Disks were community art installations across New Haven. The Disks were boundless in shape and resembled time portals, acting as pandemic archives of collective memory, stamped with the location and date like a diary entry.

At the heart of the series was a vital sense of belonging to a community. Throughout the pandemic, lives unraveled alone in the absence of both physical and social experience. Yet, when the mental space was shared together, it became a place where feelings, memories, and well-being were ultimately amplified. The Disks provided a place for New Haven to come together, reflect, and heal collectively as the city persevered through the pandemic.

In partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs (City of New Haven) and International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Diary Disks was co-created by various community partners at their own events. People reflected on their pandemic experience and wrote or drew their responses to a unique prompt on the Disk.

A YEAR IN THE MAKING

The New Haven Diary Disk project was part of a long-term research and design initiative called Design Brigade founded by Yale Center for Collaborative Arts & Media and Atelier Cho Thompson. The Diary Disks were just one part of our vision to create a more permanent healing space in New Haven. Since May 2021, the Design Brigade: On Memory team has been working closely with the Department of Cultural Affairs, designing the beginnings of a memorial for those affected by COVID-19 and addressing the systemic inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic. Our extensive outreach, urban research, and designwork culminated in a proposal to create Haven Arts Park, a greenspace for healing, celebrating the city’s resilience and compassion, and providing opportunities to promote local art and artists.