Delicious Memories
Laura Nova
, Camp Ramah in the Berkshires
About Laura Nova
Laura Nova is an artist, educator and activist who lives and works on New York’s Lower East Side, creating festive, absurdist spectacles that unite generations and diverse communities. The first Public Artist in Residence to be embedded in New York City’s Department for the Aging, Nova brings expertise and empathy to her projects and actions, designing each element to enhance social wellness and decrease social isolation. Working in festivals, public monuments, and the city street, Nova delivers spiels to homebound New Yorkers, organizes an older adult cheerleading squad and designs crafting kits, guides and costumes that help nurture emerging activists of all ages. Nova received a B.F.A. and B.A. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Expanded Media in the Creative Arts & Technology division at Bloomfield College, a college dedicated to serving the underserved. Her long-term goal is to create a municipal Department of Future Aging and Innovation.
About Delicious Memories
Delicious Memories is an illuminated processional artwork made in collaboration with the campers at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. The project draws on lived experiences through sensorial prompts about “delicious memories”, those highly somatic and multi-modal experiences that are deeply embedded in our bodies. Delicious inspired tasteful and delightful memories such as a slice of pizza, a gummy bear, a flower and a spaceship launch. The lanterns bring together older and younger campers to tell and connect stories using sculpture techniques. The lantern materials included sculpture wire, filament tape, packing tape, paper, cheesecloth, colored tissue paper, glue, LED lights, bamboo, pole harness, that are fabricated by the participants. Designing and building the lanterns while storytelling provides an embodied mode of personal and collective creation to spark memory and nurture social wellness. The illuminated procession meaningfully and intentionally reflected the themes of Shmita by creating a narrative that the community collectively performed and engaged in a ritualistic immersive experience.
