Labyrinth's: Cultivating Community: Syracuse Voices

Written By: Laura Reeder

Walking or moving intentionally through spaces and places is an experience that humans share across cultures and generations. Walking can be a deeply creative experience. Through walking, I am able to tune my movements to terrain, light, sound, atmosphere, and many more attributes of a place. When I walk with the young people in the recreation programs, they say that they see their familiar park differently. They notice how the tops of trees are filled with squirrel nests, how the sound of leaves on the ground changes with their speed, how the colors of the environment make them feel, and how the earth is more meaningful to them from simply walking and sharing their ideas. They are excited to get outdoors in freezing weather, in rain, and in hot sunshine alike!

Living in Syracuse, teaching art in the public schools, leading an arts education non-profit, and collaborating as an artist with the myriad artists and communities here, since 1981, have been foundational to the art that I create now. You see, I am a walking artist. You may have discovered my work in one of the Syracuse parks already, and you may find more this winter and spring. I etch labyrinths into leaves, grass, snow, sand, and whatever is on hand to invite others to pay attention to their own movement in a place. These temporary labyrinths are called “cultivators” because they cultivate conversations, ideas, and physical elements.

I was invited by Anne Cofer, the first-ever Public Arts Coordinator for the city and whose office is housed strategically within the Department of Parks and Recreation, to be the Department’s inaugural artist-in-residence. I am in residence for a year, drawing attention to the relationships between people and earth across hundreds of acres of parkland in the city. My project is called Cultivating Community: Syracuse Voices.

This year, we are exploring a shared question: What is your earth story? Already we are hearing from people with reflections on their relationship to the earth, through the simple act of walking in a park. You are welcome to share your story too. Contact me with your words and photos at lkreeder4@gmail.com and follow me on Instagram @laurakreeder4.