The Chalk Wall (Spring 2021)is an art intervention that is part of the Hidden Histories: Black Stories of the Lower East Side, NYC project. The process for this art intervention was collaborative and consisted of many moving parts that informed each other. All of the research on the history of African American in nine sites in the Lower East Side was done collectively and virtually as a class. We divided up the sites amongst us and compiled our research on each respective site that included visuals into a Google website that was made public. This historical research informed the actual public art intervention. We came up with the idea of using a chalk wall with questions for the public to respond to regarding the history of LES.

We designed and installed two chalkboards in public spaces in the Lower East Side that included a brief description about the project with a QR code that led to the Google Website where people could understand the context of the project and find out more information about the history of African Americans in the LES.

Since this art intervention was done during the COVID pandemic, we had hand sanitizer by the board, to help keep the chalkboards somewhat Covid-safe. The two chalkboards were installed at the University Settlement House on Eldridge and Rivington Street and the other at First Street Green Cultural Park on 1st street and 1st avenue. Each chalkboard (36" x 46) had questions to prompt people to share their knowledge of the history of LES and to find out if people knew about the history of African-Americans in the LES.

The questions on the “Chalk Wall” are:

• Who lives here in the Lower East Side (LES)?

• What is the LES known for?

• Where does the historical story of the LES begin for you?

• What is a memorial or a historical marker you would like to see that highlights the history of the LES?

Periodically the chalkboard, if filled, was erased so more people could participate in the project and more chalk was added to the box. The chalkboard at one location (First Street Green Cultural Park) was used more than the other location, where it was hung on a fence of the University Settlement House on the corner of Eldrige and Rivington Street. One time we stood by the Chalk Wall and were excited to engage with a passerby, who shared his memories of the neighborhood and its history. This led us to think about creating a digital wall for people to share their recollections of the history of the LES.

Reflections

This was a unique project and art intervention under unique circumstances. The pandemic made it more difficult to coordinate the already challenging dynamics of working in a collaborative project. This specific project was mostly done online, with very little part of it being in person. This made communication and organizing more challenging. Below are some individual reflections from the students on this project and its process.

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“My favorite moments during the process were unexpected, such as meeting a long-time resident named Rudy while installing one of our chalkboards for our public intervention and receiving an in depth tour of the neighborhood a week later. During the tour I met another resident named Robert who founded and till this day, runs the M’Finda Kalunga Garden within the LES. While meeting with Rudy and Robert, it was important for me to allow them to speak their truth. I was truly in awe learning about their upbring and experiences within the LES during the 80’s, how it has shaped them, and what the LES means to them today.” - MI

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“I have always worked in collaborative processes as an artist. Yet, I was never in one that was online, and that required me to develop other skills that are not theatre-related. Personally, it was a huge challenge since I had to leave my comfort zone as an artist and explore different ways to collaborate online. But what I definitely take from this experience is that doing online collaborations can be confusing. I also see the limitations of doing this project in a virtual classroom setup. Knowing that we needed to come up with a result quickly might have limited us to see beyond the academic needs.” - PL

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“I think with the restrictions we had, we still did the best we could. I wish we could have had more time to think about and plan the interventions. Although some of us had a chance to connect with some of the locals once the chalk walls were up, I do wish we could have had more opportunities to interact with the LES community. For future projects, I would also like to think more about the art intervention cycle and be more mindful about how we go about it with the community itself. I really liked that we made the chalk wall more accessible by creating a digital version.” - CM

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"Still much to learn with conducting online collective projects but really enjoyed the accessibility of using the internet to connect, reignite and keeping conversations about erased Black LES active and alive." - EP

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"Although meeting online to do community work in a confined time frame, this project was insightful and valuable to me as I participated in a kind of community project I have never done before as we were able to use multiple accessible mediums including an interactive chalk wall and recorded stories and histories." - KT