The Standard High Line Brings ‘Parkland 17’ Installation to New York for March for Our Lives
The Standard High Line is supporting the March for Our Lives this weekend with the unveiling of Parkland 17, a commemorative exhibition and call to action curated by artist Calyann Barnett, done with the support of Dwyane Wade. The installation, which was most recently on display at Wynwood Art Walk in Miami on March 10 for a 17-hour residence, is comprised of 17 desks.
Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, the installation will also feature a live mural painting of the phrase “we demand change” by artist Manuel Oliver. The hotel will also have open a call to action center, their “Ring Your Rep” phone booths, where people can phone representatives of Congress regarding gun control.
“The Standard originally became involved when Dwyane Wade approached us while he was working on the Parkland 17 installation for the Wynwood Art Walk. He wanted the installation to commemorate the lives lost, but also offer a call to action, and instinctively recruited the help of our ‘Ring Your Rep’ phone booth from The Standard Spa, Miami Beach,” said Landis Smithers, chief creative officer of Standard International. “With the March for Our Lives imminent, it felt only right to bring Parkland 17 to our space in New York on the weekend when students and civilians across the nation are taking to the streets to implement change.
“The students have galvanized a nation on an issue that has affected us for so long but lacked a unified voice,” Barnett said. “We have gotten numb to these tragedies — that appear to be increasing in number — and we cannot afford to. My motivation is my four-year-son, Prince. I should never have to worry about him not coming home when he goes to school.”
Her installation features empty desks with various statistics on them. “My hope when curating Parkland 17 was that everyone would feel the loss, experience the void that gun violence causes and want to do something about it. It was not enough to just remember the victims, I wanted to empower people to demand change,” Barnett said. “It was important to have the pictures of the victims, see the empty desk, read the statistics.”
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