City of Salem

In 2019 the City of Salem built a new park & named the space for Charlotte Forten; poet, educator, abolitionist, & the first Black woman to graduate from Salem State University. We seek to commemorate the life & works of this incredible human while also thinking creatively about what it means to memorialize in our modern world, moving beyond monument to activating spaces & engaging community. Our multilayered goal is first & foremost to engage our community in a robust discussion around what this park & this person means to them. Then use that meaning to drive a creative process to design a dynamic, site responsive artwork that engages two disparate parks & communities & draws them together.