The project “Walk Harlem” was conceptualized and created during Spring 2014 by Nour Chamoun, Daryl Meador, Ann-Sofie Persson and Hugo Rojas.
Initial inquiry Our initial investigation was to explore Harlem through its more underground histories and narratives of struggle and social justice. We wondered what an integration of these narratives into current public space might offer and how it might engage the community. We began designing walking tours that explored these histories but were also integrated with the present reality of the community. From here, we developed a series of templates and tools for members of the community to create their own walking tours, with the hope that these tools would generate an empowerment of public space through their use.
How can the concept and creation of alternative and personal walking tours, and the creation of maps of such in order to share the experience with others, engage a community to develop a deeper sense of its cultural and political history and of ownership of public space?
How could the installation of physical urban markers on sidewalks engage the participant to explore the walking tour? Through media used (acrylic signs, stencils, stickers) and through content?