Q: I would like to know about the ELDER project at Freedom Park. Would you tell me about it?
A: The ELDER project was a site-specific temporary art installation created by artist Masud Olufani and displayed on a leg of Freedom Park across the street from the recently renovated David T. Howard Middle School in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.
Site plans in preparation for the renovation of the David T. Howard School included the removal of roughly 60 healthy and mature trees, said Victoria Walsh, art chair of the Freedom Park Conservancy. What was seen as an unnecessary action by many culminated into opposition and shared narratives of bygone years.
“The project began as a seed of an idea in response to the public outcry over the proposed tree removal,” wrote Walsh in an email. “Former board member of the FPC Nancy Boyd (recently deceased) was the driving force behind this project.”
Among those marked was an old elm tree on Randolph Street. Over time a portion of the chain link fence on the school’s parameter became “ensnared” in the tree.
Credit: Russell Kilgore Jr.
Credit: Russell Kilgore Jr.
“The fascinating thing about the tree was that it was an anomaly on the site. There are these vestiges of history and physical remnants ... ,” the chair said. “Nancy and I were so fascinated by that symbolic relationship between people and nature.
“She sought out elders in the Old Fourth Ward community – specifically the David T. Howard High School Alumni Association and the Helene S. Mills Multipurpose Facility, Senior Community Center - to share their stories and their hands, which were used to cast physical molds for the preservation of their memories.”
A section of the century-old trunk used as the project’s cornerstone was laid on its side with the elder’s hands attached to its branches that reached out toward the Howard school.
Credit: Russell Kilgore Jr.
Credit: Russell Kilgore Jr.
“Elder suggests the potential for influencing the present by sharing wisdom gained from past experiences. It’s important to reflect and respect the layers of history embedded in our neighborhoods when making decisions about the future,” Walsh wrote.
The ELDER project is no longer on-site, but Olufani has plans to donate the hands to the Howard School.
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