Increasing diverse representation at Ottawa County Parks, through the arts!
Since the spring of 2022, Arts in the Parks leaders from the Hope College Humanities division, Ottawa County parks, and community organizations have been collaborating to increase usage at Ottawa County Parks by groups that are often underrepresented. The team, led by Pablo Peschiera (Hope College Dept of English) and Jessica VanGinhoven (Coordinator of Community Engagement, Ottawa County Parks & Rec), conducted multiple focus groups, and then shared their findings with CultureWorks.
CultureWorks contracted local artists to plan and execute a series of projects in alignment with the study’s findings. Our team of artists led 2 events and put together a field journal for self-directed outdoor discovery. These free events and resources engaged participants in new creative ways and helped promote artistic expression, community collaboration, inter-cultural appreciation, and professional development of emerging BIPOC artists.
Story Stamping with Ayanna Njoroge:
We spent a beautiful afternoon out at Hawthorn Pond with Ayanna Njoroge and Josephine Suarez!
Participants walked the pond trail, stopping at stations along the way, where they read a fun fact about plants and stamped a botanical design. Then they painted a pot and planted their own succulent to bring home. Ayanna is a Hope college student from Kenya, majoring in art and the environment, so this project was a celebration of all her favorite things.
Chalk Walk & Talk with Samuel Vega:
We gathered for a delightful evening with fellow artists, lovers of poetry, and nature nerds, at the beautiful Upper Macatawa Natural Area!
Samuel Vega composed 20 nature inspired poems this summer, which he debuted this evening amidst the breezy backdrop of bee balm and trees, with sun and rain playing tag across the open sky. Participants added their own poetic words and images to the walkways with chalk, and ventured down the trails to explore.
Field Journal, by Josephine Suarez:
We printed and distributed field journals for self-guided park exploration. Journals were designed by Josephine Suarez and included meditative prompts, & artwork by her, along with poetry by Samuel Vega.
We’re so grateful to Ayanna, Samuel, and Josephine for developing and leading these projects, which were funded by a community-based initiatives grant from @mellonfoundation, in collaboration with @ottawacountyparks and @hopecollege.
