The Big Commute PARKs

September 17th, 2010 11:46 AM Eastern

I am in Syracuse, New York. The city and university are participating in PARK(ing) Day. Artists are setting up art or DIY mini events in parking spaces in Downtown, The SU area and the "connective corridor". This morning, I've mini golfed, enjoyed Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, and a game of checkers. Last night I stayed up later than usual (partially due to the karaoke rap happening upstairs and extraordinarily good cup of coffee from the Kind Coffee Co), thinking about how I'd like to engage this public art. Syracuse is funny because pedestrians and artists don't seem to need to reclaim space from cars anyway; I've been impressed by the lack of traffic, the ease of the bike commute and the wide open streets. The drivers are meaner and go out of their way to swear you out, but there certainly aren't a ton of them. So I think artists need to address what it means to reclaim a space that hasn't necessarily been claimed very firmly by something or someone else. What is the history of a space that is empty? Why does it what to be filled up?

I'm answering the question similarly to the Big Commute, doing something fun and engaging and accidentally gave me an excuse to talk about all sorts of city planning issues.

I'm biking around with my Burley filled with an accordion, chair, lunch box, computer, some water etc, and serenading all the (PARK)ing spaces. Connecting the people in the connective corridor. Providing a recognizable display of public art that allows people who are a bit fearful of random acts of art in the city to stare without feeling stared at themselves. And I get to meet all the rad artists in Syracuse and see what they are up to and thinking about.