We kicked off our summer programming with art installation projects in partnership with 3sixty and wrapped up with a neighborhood celebration in the Eastcore Neighborhood at Rosa Parks Green.
Throughout July, CultureWorks students and Eastcore Neighbors worked together on a variety of art installations, including a collaborative flag project that was displayed at Prospect Park and Rosa Parks Green. As they designed and created their flags, participants were asked to reflect on several questions: In this season of life, what has brought you peace? How can an image represent justice or solidarity in times of unrest? What has been your favorite quarantine activity? What do you value in your neighborhood? The resulting banners reflect a wide range of experiences and hopes and represent the strength and beauty of our community as we stand in solidarity with one another in this difficult and uncertain season.
Flags will also hang throughout the summer at the alleyway restoration project, located between 18th & 19th streets and Central & River, where students and residents worked on other projects together. We hope the alleyway will inspire and empower our students to undertake similar revitalization efforts in their own neighborhoods. We love how residents have repurposed land and resources in order to create a welcoming garden sanctuary in the core city of Holland. The alleyway serves as a way for neighbors to connect and decompress from life’s stressors, and a way to nurture a more vital and diverse ecosystem in the neighborhood. According to resident Lori Appeldoorn: “The hope is to turn an alley that everybody uses everyday, into something beautiful and something we all can share in…If we can touch one person, that’s pretty terrific!”
At our final neighborhood celebration in August, about 100 community members gathered to enjoy free ice cream, printmaking, and a performance by the Michigan Academy of Folk Music. Participants were invited to design and print their own flags to add to our neighborhood display, and Silkscreen Marketing was on site with their Printmobile as well. We’re grateful to the City of Holland for supporting these festivities with a small grant, and for helping us celebrate neighborhood vitality through the arts.
