memorial mapping
the memorial mapping phase of haven arts park, which directly followed the diary disks phase, served as an effort to contextualize the many experiences, stories, and insights collected from the disks. memorial mapping consisted of a research report and an arts-exhibition tour, with the goal being to explicitly name the way new haven’s history influenced covid-19 outcomes amongst New haven’s black and brown communities, whom were most heavily impacted by the pandemic.
we created two reports to help us understand how COVId-19 has exacerbated health outcomes amongst Black and brown residents. we were able to trace the impact of the pandemic back to redlining in the 1930s and redevelopment in the 1950s. the same neighborhoods that were rated “C” and “d” in the 30s, are the same neighborhoods that had highways constructed through them in the 50s, and are the same neighborhoods that are today heavily impacted by covid-19 and lack of greenspace.
both reports serve as foundational documents in supporting site selection.
research
report 1, “On memory: The full story from redlining to the pandemic”, utilizes arcgis to visually highlight these outcomes, including factors like diabetes rates, covid-19 contraction rates, asthma rates, low-income rates, etc.
report 2, “tomorrow demands yesterday: on redlining, urban renewal, and covid-19 in new haven’s black and brown communities”, uses literature and New haven archives to more deeply explore new haven’s history of systemic and systematic inequity.
exhibit one
held at the ives main library, featured a presentation of report 1, alongside the work of several new haven based artists.
thabisa gave a musical performance, hinting at the importance of loving one another through the pandemic.
roderick topping’s photos showcased an intimate visualization of the city during quarantine times.
nadine nelson’s culinary arts educated people on the correlations between food and redlining, and also taught attendees how to build their own all-around plate.
allison minto displayed her black new haven archive, highlighting often overlooked local black family narratives.
This exhibit, which occurred next to a covid-19 vaccination clinic, was much more highly attended than we expected, which further supported our conclusion that the city was in need of healing spaces and art.
exhibition tour
exhibit two
held at artspace in collaboration with the new haven night market, exhibition two featured a performance from thabisa and a hands-on feedback board, intended for visitors to input their three most important components of an art-healing park space.
the input: color-coded stickers to five categories (red = safety, orange = congregational space, yellow = event space, green = greenspace, and blue = art). visitors selected three of these stickers as they choose most important.
this exhibit allowed us to collect specific data points around the community’s priorities for haven arts park.
