Heat Response
Art practice as a framework for community activism.
Heat Response was an artist-led initiative to address extreme heat in Philadelphia neighborhoods. As lead artist in Grays Ferry, I connected with community members of all ages to gather stories, co-create, and implement environmental and social justice related interventions.
Client
Trust for Public Land
Collaborators
215 People’s Alliance
Phyllis Brennan
Jason Killinger
Eve Mosher
Charles Reeves
Young Chances Foundation
Disciplines
Community organizing
Community art practice
Teaching
Mural design and installation
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Year
2022
Phase 1: Spring-Winter 2020
Gathering information & imagining possibilities
To kick off the project, I designed postcards to gather recorded memories and traditions from community members, especially elders, about their summer experiences growing up in Grays Ferry.
I held art workshops in Lanier Park where Grays Ferry youth drew heat-mitigating designs inspired by the elders’ postcards. We passed the designs back to the elders so they could give input, then students created 3-d models of their designs.
I organized a Family Halloween event where artwork was displayed, and we tapped parents for ideas on how the park could better serve the community.
Lasting Impact:
The initial round of art workshops became regular Saturday morning drop-ins. Caregivers expressed that this type of opportunity is rare but vital for their children. We explored clay, painting, music, and more in these joyful sessions.
Engaging a dialogic process
Phase 2: Spring-Summer 2021
We held community meetings to decide what was possible with the ideas and budget we had. Despite the continuing pandemic, we kept elders involved in the conversation by organizing an ice cream social and open mic event where they recorded more ideas and memories on postcards.
From these meetings, it was decided that more benches were needed in Lanier Park.
Lasting Impact
Throughout 2021, I did a series of guest lectures at the The Tyler School of Art Community Art Practice class. These dedicated students became interns, helping to paint the murals, teach workshops, and volunteer in the park.
Implementation and Stewardship
Phase 3: Fall 2021-Summer 2022
I partnered with 215 People’s Alliance to expand art workshops to the Growing Together community garden, forming a garden and muraling club. We hosted garden planning workshops, weekly art sessions and childcare for garden workers, and tended youth garden beds.
In 2021, we led a participatory mural design and installation process, resulting in the Growing Together/Creciendo Juntos mural.
We installed two new benches at Lanier Park, completing a circuit of benches around the entire park. And in 2024, I worked with local middle school students to create the Lanier Park mural, celebrating the natural life at the park.
