Raha Behnam

Sunday, May 31, 2015

I am beginning to engage in some guerrilla placemaking in the empty lot across the street from my house. It is a big space, clearly used to be the site of a house or other structure and is currently used by the neighborhood mainly for dog-walking.

I imagine filling the space, little by little, with makeshift signs of human care. Things that engage passersby to linger, things that inspire whimsy, things that ever-so-subtly transform the quotidian neighborhood. As I think on it more, I imagine a public garden, a haven for humans and nature, and maybe a place for neighbors to gather, chat and play games.

I begin today by building the frame of a teepee from fallen branches around my house. It was so much easier and sturdier than I imagined it would be! Standing in my side yard and building it, I felt the eyes of neighbors on me. I wondered what people were thinking.

By 3pm I had something I was able to drag over to the empty lot. As I took a step back to see the structure in the space, and then started walking away, someone yelled from across the street to me:

“Hey, excuse me! What are you building?”

I became acquainted with this neighbor, and learned that he is one of the keenest eyes on the block. In his own words, he notices everything that happens around here. As we talked, I felt how my little creative project was already becoming a political reality. The very point of putting these objects in a privately-owned, but unused space, is to challenge the current (un)use of the property. It is also directly engaging with the other neighbors who may have varying feelings about my actions.

This neighbor, who I will refer to as Gary, expressed his willingness to help out with things, but at the same time I sensed his hesitation and suspicion. At one point, he mentioned the homeless people he sees strolling the streets and predicted that one of them would find this teepee a fine spot to hunker down in. He explained to me that some people are just bad, and we don’t want drug dealers coming around here. He mentioned that in another nearby neighborhood, a woman had almost been raped by two homeless men who were drunk. He explained that they simply don’t want to do better even if given the resources.

Before I left, Gary wanted me to know that the space is private property, and the person who owns it also owns a lot of other buildings in town. He was worried that if my work was torn down I would be upset.

I am curious to see who I engage with next and what happens to the things I put up there. I am wondering if people will add to these curious creations. Mostly, however, I am suddenly very aware of the political nature of such actions and that the most fascinating part will be the various ways in which people will respond to this guerrilla park project.