ALLENTOWN, Pa. — For many, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of loneliness, isolation and uncertainty.
Basement Poetry Artistic Director Chloe Cole-Wilson hopes to give people a place to process that in her new immersive and interactive exhibition, "Restoring Petals."
The artwork — which includes framed poems, resin pieces and paper flowers — reflects on the isolation of the pandemic and honors those who died from COVID-19.
The pieces were created by Cole-Wilson and community members. Local artists Rei Ukon and Genesis Rodriguez created a mural for the exhibition.
"Restoring Petals" will open with a reception from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, during the museum’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration.
Parking and admission are free.
The reception will feature a choral-poetry performance by artist Latrice Young and music performances by artists Darius Foster, Syncere Jackson, Jaeo and Rozse.
Cole-Wilson is a Community Art+Action Fellow at the museum. She said she hopes the exhibition can serve as a beautified space where visitors can reflect, process and relax, especially after the recent gun violence in the city.
“We deserve this space,” Cole-Wilson said. “We deserve a beautiful space where we could just read a book and leave, where you could sit and meditate, where you could be amongst the poetry.”
Inspiration for 'Restoring Petals'
Cole-Wilson said she drew inspiration from sitting rooms that were common in homes in the late 1800s and the conversation pits of the 1960s.
“That's what I was inspired by, creating a space where there are things to enjoy and digest and look at, but is also a space where people can really just be still, become, read a book,” Cole-Wilson said.
Cole-Wilson held several workshops for community members to create poetry, paper flowers and resin art that will be in the exhibition. She said hundreds of people contributed.
"We created a safe space for them to process the health world, but also process the world around them.”Basement Poetry Artistic Director Chloe Cole-Wilson
The workshops also functioned as information sessions about COVID-19, vaccinations and mental health.
“That's a big part of all of this is, how do we utilize art to support public health models, but also understand that people are uneasy?” Cole-Wilson said.
“And so we created a safe space for them to process the health world, but also process the world around them.”
A new nonprofit
"Restoring Petals" is presented by Basement Poetry, a performance arts nonprofit that creates spaces for people to process topics such as racism, LGBTQ issues and more.
Cole-Wilson said the organization began when a group of Northampton Community College students started putting on shows together.
“We never thought it would be in this place, but we're excited to be here. And we're excited to continue to be small and intimate, and create space for community members to process and feel connected with each other."Basement Poetry Artistic Director Chloe Cole-Wilson
“We never thought it would be in this place, but we're excited to be here,” Cole-Wilson said.
"And we're excited to continue to be small and intimate, and create space for community members to process and feel connected with each other.
Basement Poetry recently received 501c3 nonprofit status, which Cole-Wilson said will help them receive funding. She said she hopes the nonprofit can establish more community groups and pay more artists for their work.
Cole-Wilson said Basement Poetry is looking for more board members and artists to get involved. The current leadership team is Cole-Wilson, Deidre Van-Waters and Camille Armstrong.
