Emily Straughn - Weinland Park

Portals to Weinland Park is an installation of door frames scattered throughout Weinland Park. People are invited to imagine the doorways as portals in order to unlock their sense of imaginative play. The two sides of the doorways reflect different architectural styles found within the surrounding neighborhood. We also recognize that Weinland Park is undergoing gentrification, so the installation draws on the neighborhoods spirit and history in order to create a space where residents both new and old can openly share their community with each other.

Above: We built a 9' tall, to-scale prototype of the 'Holding Your Hand' door. It stands at one of the entrances of the park in order to encourage people to enter the park and play with a companion. Side 1 is made of painted foam, which would be translated to stone for the real doorway. Side 2 is cardboard we lasercut and painted black, which would translate to wrought iron.