ABOUT THE PROJECT
Using Roosevelt Avenue in Queens as a branching spine into the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Corona, the project will take place in the multiple pockets of neighborhood plazas and underutilized lots. A temporary installation will display a series of oral histories that will transform and activate Roosevelt Avenue into a collective urban archive. By listening, responding and engaging with the interviews and theme, participants will be able to tie individual narratives to the histories of activism, social justice and care within their urban spaces. This spatial intervention will set the stage for a series of participatory building sessions that will engage people in sharing and recording how they got there, who they are, and what they want for the future of their neighborhood.
Meet the Artist
Pedro Juan Cruz Cruz is a multidisciplinary New York-based architect, educator, artists, and researcher from Puerto Rico. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Master of Architecture from the Spitzer School of Architecture (CCNY, CUNY), where he teaches as an Adjunct Lecturer. Pedro’s community-focused work is led by methods of graphic anthropology, documentation of urban informality, grassroots organizing, mutual aid, and self-resilience practices. He pursues independent research in New York and Puerto Rico, mainly focused on the socio-political, cultural, and temporal relationships in public and private spaces through design speculation and film.