Interview with Iris Brown (Norris Square Neighborhood Project, 2021-10-14 and 2021-10-22)
Subject
Brown, Iris
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Philadelphia Green (Program)
Las Parcelas Community Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Norris Square Neighborhood Project (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Villa Africana Colobó (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Community gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Urban gardening -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Villa Africána Colobó
Description
Interview by Joe Makuc with community gardener Iris Brown that combines hour-long interviews on October 14th, 2021 and October 22nd, 2021 in Las Parcelas and Villa Africána Colobó gardens.
The first interview (Las Parcelas) This interview takes place in Las Parcelas community garden where Brown describes her upbringing in Loiza, Puerto Rico, and her work with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP). Brown discusses the situation in the Norris Square area before the development of the garden in the early 90s and the creation of the Puerto Rican neighborhood organizing group Grupo Motivos.
Brown leads Makuc on a tour of the garden. They first discuss the collaboration between Norris Square Neighborhood Project and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to build the Las Parcelas and Brown describes the process of Norris Square’s designation as a Greene Countrie Towne. Brown describes the elements of the garden's mural that depicts Grupo Motivos, its kitchen area, and the adjacent casita or little house. The interview covers Brown’s tenure as president of the Philadelphia Green board and the development of the other Norris Square community gardens such as Raíces and El Batey. She concludes with reflections on the importance of the gardens for the community.
The second interview (Villa Africána Colobó) The second interview takes the form of a tour of El Colobó. Iris Brown and Joe Makuc visit the Storytelling Room where the objects of West African diaspora are displayed. Brown describes the function of the objects in carnival time in Loiza and Ponce for the Vejigigante costume. Next, Brown discusses the garden's relationship to filmmakers Mike Kuetemeyer and Anula Shetty, who produced documentaries on Las Parcelas and Colobó in 2006 and are engaged in the 2021 Places of Power - Norris Square augmented reality project at the time of recording.
The first interview (Las Parcelas) This interview takes place in Las Parcelas community garden where Brown describes her upbringing in Loiza, Puerto Rico, and her work with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP). Brown discusses the situation in the Norris Square area before the development of the garden in the early 90s and the creation of the Puerto Rican neighborhood organizing group Grupo Motivos.
Brown leads Makuc on a tour of the garden. They first discuss the collaboration between Norris Square Neighborhood Project and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to build the Las Parcelas and Brown describes the process of Norris Square’s designation as a Greene Countrie Towne. Brown describes the elements of the garden's mural that depicts Grupo Motivos, its kitchen area, and the adjacent casita or little house. The interview covers Brown’s tenure as president of the Philadelphia Green board and the development of the other Norris Square community gardens such as Raíces and El Batey. She concludes with reflections on the importance of the gardens for the community.
The second interview (Villa Africána Colobó) The second interview takes the form of a tour of El Colobó. Iris Brown and Joe Makuc visit the Storytelling Room where the objects of West African diaspora are displayed. Brown describes the function of the objects in carnival time in Loiza and Ponce for the Vejigigante costume. Next, Brown discusses the garden's relationship to filmmakers Mike Kuetemeyer and Anula Shetty, who produced documentaries on Las Parcelas and Colobó in 2006 and are engaged in the 2021 Places of Power - Norris Square augmented reality project at the time of recording.
Date
2021, 2022
Coverage
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Interviewer
Makuc, Joseph
Interviewee
Brown, Iris
Collection
Citation
“Interview with Iris Brown (Norris Square Neighborhood Project, 2021-10-14 and 2021-10-22),” Philadelphia Community Gardens Memory Collection, accessed April 26, 2024, https://phillycommunitygardensmemory.omeka.net/items/show/88.
Comments