As part of a final project for the Critical Pedagogy, Artists, and the Public Sphere class, students developed a workshop to share and collect stories about the Lower East Side. Inspired by the Argentinian artist collective The Iconoclasistas and their public mapping strategies, we designed a table and visual mapping strategy that would engage residents and tourists to share their stories based on specific prompts and activities related to four words/concepts: belonging, displacement, territory, and resistance/insistence. These words share a connection to the theme of gentrification and were chosen based on conversations about the forces drastically changing the neighborhood, including NYU’s expanding footprint. Students researched and shared connections to local history based on connections to these words in an exchange of stories.
We traced a large map of the LES, indicating our specific location and included photographs of the neighborhood, historic context, and some landmarks to orient people and encourage participation. Participants wrote their stories of displacement or belonging in the L.E.S. on post-it notes to place on a map of the area. The workshop was held in two locations with vastly different interactions: St. Mark’s Place on a cold Saturday before the holiday season, and the Tompkins Square Library on a rainy weekday evening.
Preparation for the workshops:
Workshop #1: St. Mark’s Place
Workshop #2: Tompkins Square Library
