Week 2/June 12-18, 2023
Kendall Greene
Once again, we had another full week of new people, ideas, and visits to different locations around the city. I had the opportunity to visit Roosevelt Island for the first time and learn about the history of Cornell Tech which inhabits most of the island. We were attendees of the Cornell XR Access Symposium. We heard presentations on studies conducted to help people with low vision or blindness better experience VR headsets and learned about the difficulties that the form of the headsets poses to those with cochlear implants. However, we reflected on how we wished that they had incorporated more diverse perspectives from people with varied abilities without being limited to gender identity.
After Roosevelt Island, we journeyed via subway to the Upper East Side to visit the New York Society Library. The interior was ornate yet comfortable and homey. We were immediately met with warm welcomes by the women at the front desk. Following introductions, we had the opportunity to explore the building decorated with marble sculptures, chandeliers, and an elevator that stopped at every floor. The staff allowing us to work there this summer were deeply kind, and I am eager to discover my go-to reading nook. While we were in the Upper East Side, we decided to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was shocked by the high ceilings and casual atmosphere even the building housed artworks that were hundreds of years old. Our intention during the visit was to visit Lauren Halsey’s sculpture installation on the rooftop. The roof was bustling with people enjoying themselves and conversing with friends over drinks. I weaved my way through the sculpture and noticed the homages to Black power, community, sensitivity, culture, and joy ingrained in the artwork. This felt like a perfect opening transition to summer.
On Saturday, I completed a few more runs to Best Buy and the printing shop to pick up supplies for next week’s exhibition at ONX. We transported about half of the materials for DEMODAY down in two separate cars and began setting up the space when we arrived. I look forward to writing more about how the exhibition goes for next week’s entry! For now, I hope you have the opportunity to watch the recently edited Kitchen Marronage Episode with Truong and Dr. Goffe’s talk on Black Geologies.
Ariana White
Discovering Hidden Connections
I spent most of this week working remotely, just miles from the George Washington Bridge in Bergen County, NJ. The week was full of small moments that highlighted the shared and unique experiences acquired across our team's various cultures. For example, Dr. Goffe mentioned the Trinidadian lottery game called “Ple (Play) Whe”, similar to those common in the United States. But Dr. Goffe shared that these games are not simply chance games, but ones based on superstition, intuition, and Asian traditions that favor specific days of the week and compositions of numbers. Goffe brought up memories of my great uncle in Trinidad who archives the winning Ple Whe numbers every week. Though knowledgeable of this lottery game I new knew about its cultural and religious significance andadn was allowed that insight through insightful conversation.
We also spent some time engaging in an activity that allowed us a sneak peek into one another’s family histories. We were asked to create a digital photo archive of our families using Padlet, which included images of our elders alongside images of the physical environment. I shared pictures of a weekly market held in Chaguanas, Trinidad while Dr. Goffe and Kendall shared images of plant life and vegetation that contribute to their home cultures biodiversity.
I ended the week with a trip to the New York Society Library in the Upper East Side to explore our unique resource and the layers of archival spaces within the library. I was given a tour through the what was once a lavish town home in NYC, where living rooms were converted to silent reading rooms and second elevators navigated floors filled to the ceiling with stacks. The public reference/reading room located at the front entrance is open for public use and incudes a secret door hidden within the walls lending homage to the history of the building itself.
