Places of Power: Las Parcelas is an immersive VR documentary, augmented reality installation, and public art project. It celebrates the origins and impact of a remarkable community garden in North Philadelphia where the spirit of Puerto Rico proudly blooms.
In the early 1990s, Grupo Motivos, a group of Puerto Rican women in North Philadelphia united to reclaim their neighborhood from the devastation of open drug markets, abandoned houses, and vacant lots. The women initially gathered to cook, sew, and support one another through shared challenges. They then began cleaning up the abandoned lots and partnering with community organizations to build vibrant community gardens rooted in Puerto Rican culture.
Today, Las Parcelas is actively stewarded and maintained by the Norris Square Neighborhood Project. It is a dynamic cultural hub used widely by the local community. A centerpiece of the garden is La Casita, a traditional wooden rural Puerto Rican home that serves as a living museum curated by elders and residents who donate sentimental housewares representing life in the Puerto Rican countryside.
Project directors Anula Shetty and Michael Kuetemeyer of Termite TV, and Iris Brown of Norris Square Neighborhood Project and co-founder of Grupo Motivos, are leading workshops in Las Parcelas with an intergenerational group of community residents. Along with media technology skills, the workshops incorporate cooking, sewing, traditional crafts, herbal medicine and music lessons led by local artists and elders. Through the AR installations created by the participants, physical landmarks and objects in the garden are transformed into portals, bringing to life the voices and memories of residents. Finished art projects are presented in a web archive and a Virtual Reality tour; Each successive participant cohort adds to the archive, so that it captures the community’s development and reflects an ongoing history – serving as a repository of cultural memory and community connections.
Working together we collaborate to create media that connects to place.
The garden is surrounded by beautiful murals representing the garden’s history and founding.
An archival video about the history of the Las Parcelas Garden by Anula Shetty and Michael Kuetemeyer, created in collaboration with Grupo Motivos and Scribe Video Center.
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In the early 1980s, “Grupo Motivos,” a collection of Puerto Rican women in North Philadelphia, grew tired of seeing their children and communities being exposed to daily drug dealings, gun violence, abandoned houses, and trashed vacant lots. They started occupying and cleaning the vacant lots.
This project features Iris Brown, one of the founders of Grupo Motivos, and her vision for Las Parcelas, a garden that celebrates the African heritage and the West African diaspora in Puerto Rican culture.
Completed in 20xx, the garden’s mix of herbs, fruit, and vegetables includes yuca, sunflowers, Puerto Rican oregano, and castor bean.
The garden is under the continued maintenance of the Norris Square Neighborhood Project.
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The garden is surrounded by beautiful murals representing the garden’s history and founding.
An archival video about the history of the Las Parcelas Garden by Anula Shetty and Michael Kuetemeyer, created in collaboration with Grupo Motivos and Scribe Video Center.
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