Part 6: Installation Week
Visitors to Mary Soo Hoo Park got a sneak peak into this year’s team activations during ResLab install week! It was a very busy time for our artists and residents, who installed their work during an August heatwave. From spray painting paths of red, white, and orange footprints throughout the park, to drilling screws into bench seats, everyone had a part to play. Teams also took lunch breaks in order to eat Banh Mi sandwiches in the shade or chat with local residents.
IMG description: ResLab participants, Sheila and Cass, work to assemble the picnic table components at Mary Soo Hoo Park. Cass kneels on the ground, securing multi-color bench legs to the seat board. In the back, Sheila and intern Qing Qing hoist the finished table parts across the park, the ventstack’s long colorful mural just behind them.
Caption: Before anyone even had a chance to sit down on it, Sheila and Cass’s tiered picnic table was already attracting attention from curious park-goers and children. One mother later approached me and said that finding ways to keep her children busy and excited about the outdoors was becoming increasingly more difficult during the pandemic. I was reminded of Cass’s own words about the importance of making space for children in Mary Soo Hoo Park.
IMG description: ResLab participant Kathy and a volunteer crouch down on the ground at Mary Soo Hoo Park. They scoop out soil to place in the planter boxes, which are placed up against a bright red fence. The planters are painted green on the sides, with colorful figures of people. Another ResLab participant, Yuko, watches them.
IMG description: ResLab participant Kathy and a volunteer crouch down on the ground at Mary Soo Hoo Park. They scoop out soil to place in the planter boxes, which are placed up against a bright red fence. The planters are painted green on the sides, with colorful figures of people. Another ResLab participant, Yuko, watches them.