With Mo Geiger and the Dr. MLK Jr. Elementary School 5th Grade Safety Patrol
Part of Assembly Social Practice Conference
King School Museum of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
Supported by PICA Precipice Fund and Andy Warhol Foundation
Exhibited at the Portland Building for KSMoCA: Present Days, 2022, Portland OR
2022-present
The Hi-Vizibility Crosswalk Spectacular is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Dr. MLK Jr. Elementary School 5th Grade Safety Patrol, a group of student crossing guards, culminating in a participatory pedestrian parade at King School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA) to celebrate visibility and freedom of movement in public space.
Figuring the crossing guard as connective tissue between static infrastructure and human motion in public space, Mo Geiger and I envision this work with the students to be a starting point for civic engagement: a way to experience the conversation between ourselves and the city.
The 2022 Crosswalk Spectacular was a colorful exhibition of the new, personalized hi-viz Safety Patrol uniforms that Mo and I co-designed with the students. Inherited by each new generation of Safety Patrol, the uniforms are interactive, wearable student artworks. The parade led to a dance party at the school’s newly painted guerilla crosswalk, and was part of Assembly, the Portland State University Art + Social Practice MFA program’s annual co-authored social practice conference.
