It’s PARK(ing) Day! From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today parking spots in Armory Square, on Marshall Street and around Columbus Circle will become public art installations as part of a global initiative to rethink how city space is used. Here’s where you’ll find PARK(ing) Day installations throughout downtown:
Armory Square
Alchemical Nursery Project, 500 S. Franklin St., outside of The MOST
The nonprofit organization, which promotes an urban eco-village in Syracuse, will facilitate literacy by transforming part of its resource library into a free bookstore, outdoor reading and discussion pod. It will also host a collaborative paper-making project that invites passersby to add paper to a bucket of pulp, which will then be used to make one-of-a-kind bookmarks and bicycle spoke cards. Artist and community member Theresa Barry, 321 S. Clinton St.
Barry, who had the Razzberry shop in Armory Square for 15 years, currently installs window displays for stores in the area and has begun installations in art shows. She will host a humorous installation to convey a sense of fun using paper mach (c) trees, toy birds and squirrels, a mannequin having a picnic and a hotdog cart filled with platic hotdogs. The Front, 320 S. Clinton St.
A student-run initiative of the American Institute of Architecture Students at SU, The Front’s core mission is to bridge the gap between students at the School of Architecture and the broader Syracuse community by organizing exhibitions, educational events and other forms of public outreach. Its installation will foster creativity and dialogue between community users by staging a seating area with a set of parts (planters, walkable sod, seating and lounge slopes) that can be reconfigured to create temporary environments. Each person who redesigns the space will allow The Front to analyze and predict how the community envisions the future of Syracuse. Group members will stimulate conversation and rebuild the space as users deem necessary. Community members Bryan and Shannon Caldwell, 307 S. Clinton St.
The couple moved to Armory Square two years ago from Auckland, New Zealand. Bryan is a professional lighting designer and installation artist and Shannon a writer. They will recreate the famous Waitomo Caves of their homeland by building a foliage-covered hill/cave (tent), complete with glowworms (Christmas tree lights embedded on black cloth). Passersby can walk through the cave or ride on a boat (small trolley) to view glowworms. Lock 49, 120 Walton St.
Two staff members from the graphic design and web development service will construct a large checkerboard using chalk, with cardboard or foamcore for checker pieces. Passersby can make moves in on-going games. Shakespeare in the Park ing Space, 120 Walton St.
Syracuse-based teacher, improviser and artist Ken Keech and his students from the Lafayette Big Picture School, where students are encouraged to explore interests and work on subjects that they are passionate about, will host “Shakespeare in the Park ing Space.” The installation will be a miniature outdoor theater–complete with lights, proscenium stage and curtain–where the group will perform “Hamlet” and stage other Shakespearean scenes. The humorous installation will allow students working on the project to learn about performance art, stagecraft and Shakespeare. Doubletree Hotel Syracuse, 428 S. Franklin St, near the shot clock
The full service hotel and conference center, located just outside of downtown , provides accommodations and meeting facilities for business, social and leisure travelers and groups. Staff members will install a mock hotel room with emphasis on the energy and environmental sustainability efforts that the hotel and hotel industry are currently making. The Red House, 304 S. Franklin St.
The nonprofit cultural center, whose mission is to change lives through intimate and distinct experiences in the arts, will install a miniature golf course made of sod and buliding materials with obstacles that can be customized throughout the day, in addition to having materials on hand for participants to customize their own golf balls. Downtown Syracuse
Northside Collaboratory, 730-732 N. Salina St.
The Northside Collaboratory seeks to radically improve the quality of life on the northside of Syracuse by assembling diverse groups of stakeholders to engage in common tasks for the benefit of the community. It will create a small outdoor seating venue using chairs, potted plants and outdoor umbrellas. SU fashion design faculty member Laurel Morton, 450 E. Fayette St., in front of the Firefighters Memorial Park Morton, a VPA faculty member interested in sustainable fashion and textile recycling as it affects the planet and fashion industry, will host an “Indigo Dye-In.” Using natural and non-toxic dye, she will give used clothing a new life and hopes to promote sustainable processes, de-emphasize rampant consumerism and educate consumers about textile recycling options. Passersby, should they have an incling to reinvigorate their clothing, can particpate. Activist Kathleen Rumpf, 421 Montgomery St.
For more than 20 years, Rumpf has been working to address issues at the downtown jail. In 1992, she built a cage and lived in it outside the old Public Safety Building. She will set up her cage, made of conduit plastic pipe, and will be in it for the entire day to bring light to issues of low income housing and wrongful deaths at the jail. Syracuse Peace Council (SPC), 811 E. Genesee St., Forman Park area
Founded in 1936, SPC is a community-based antiwar/social justice organization. Autonomous and funded by the contributions of its supporters, SPC educates, agitates and organizes for a world where war, violence and exploitation in any form no longer exist. SPC will use props to display the ramifications of a drone attack on Afghanistan, including a scale model of a drone (with 7-foot wingspan) which sits on a tripod, rubble and signage explaining the implications. They hope to create greater visibility about important issues and inspire people to get involved with peace. 20 Watts magazine, 720 E. Genesee St., Forman Park area
An online music publication compiled by SU students, 20 Watts had a successful print publication, but this semester is starting from the ground up by rebuilding a solely online presence. Its installation will be a simple space, with table and chairs, for passersby to sit and discuss music in the local community. Syracuse Center of Excellence, 716 E. Genesee St., Forman Park area
The SyracuseCoE will install a simple spot, complete with a tent, rug, grill and particleboard tree on which passersby can leave notes. Community Folk Art Center (CFAC), 805 E. Genesee St., Forman Park area
CFAC collects, exhibits, teaches and interprets the visual and performing arts, with programming including exhibitions, film screenings, gallery talks, workshops and courses in the studio, performing and expressive arts. A unit of SU’s African American Studies Department, CFAC will educate passersby about the organization and its commitment of engaging the Syracuse community, the region and the world to the promotion and development of artists of the African Diaspora. Marshall Street
Community member James Heredia, 101 Marshall St.
Heredia, 24, currently taking time off from school at SUNY-ESF to work and save money, will read all 14,000 things there are to be happy about from the book “14,000 Things to be Happy About,” by Barbara Ann Kipfer (Workman Publishing Co., 1990). He hopes to remind everyone of the little things in life that bring smiles to faces. Armed with only a chair and his book, Heredia says he will be happy to field any questions that may arise. Thursday morning Foundation 111: Time Arts Class, Marhsall St., across from Panda West
The Foundation Arts class, housed in SU’s School of Art and Design in VPA, consists of first-year students beginning their studies in a broad range of creative fields, such as fashion, communication design and textiles. Students will stage a half-relaxation and half-interactive area. Local Spiritual Assembly of Syracuse, 720 University Ave., across from Marshall Square Mall
The Baha’i Faith is a independent world religion whose purpose is to unite all peoples of the world by promoting universal peace and eliminating all forms of prejudice and inequality. The youngest of the world’s independent monotheistic religions, it was founded in Iran in 1844 and has more than five million followers in 236 countries and territories. Baha’is come from every national, ethnic and religious background, making the faith the second-most-widespread religion in the world. Baha’i’s from the Syracuse community will create a minimal installation by demarcating dimensions of a prison cell with chalk for use as a place of open-air solitude and reflection for passersby. Participants are encouraged to stop and think critically about the current state of affairs in Iran and how it could relate to them. Everson Museum of Art, 151 Marshall St.
The Everson inspires, educates and enriches, integrating art into people’s lives through direct encounters with its collections and exhibitions. Its installation seeks to gather the public’s interpretation of art. Passersby will be asked to complete the sentence “Art is ” by filling in blank adhesive notes in various colors, to encourage individuals to consider the role art plays in their life and the lives of others. Completed notes will be displayed on a large board, arranged to spell out “Art is.” The Connective Corridor, 802 S. Crouse Ave., in front of Varsity Pizza
The city of Syracuse is home to three major universities, more than 30 arts and cultural venues and shopping centers, all within close distance to one another. In the coming months and years, nodes of the Connective Corridor will be stitched together and showcased with new urban landscapes, bike paths, imaginative lighting, public and interactive art, signage and way-finding systems. The installation will use bikes, public art and a relaxation space to help communicate what the Connective Corridor is all about; a hammock and lemonade will also be offered. SU School of Education, 173 Marshall St.
The School of Education will set up an interactive tech and teaching kiosk to educate passerby about the school’s M.S. degree program in instructional technology. In addition, 10 spots located throughout Armory Square, downtown and around Marshall St. will be staged by SUNY-ESF students from professor Anthony J. Miller’s studio class. Part of SUNY-ESF’s mission is to promote leadership necessary for the stewardship of both the natural and designed environments. Ten groups of four students will develop ideas for each space the day before the event, as part of their classwork. Space utilization will be environmentally friendly and revolve around sustainability. Their spaces will be located at 238 W. Jefferson St.; 6 S. Franklin St.; 721 E. Genesee St.; 818 E. Genesee St.; 724 University Ave.; 850 University Ave.; S. Crouse Ave., in front of Crouse Hospital Parking Garage; and S. Crouse Ave., in front of CVS.