The Rose River Memorial is a grassroots community art movement that honors and grieves the many lives lost during the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. We aspire to create a felt rose as a symbol of grief for every life lost. We acknowledge the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 deaths among POC communities and create intercultural alliances that will strengthen and unite us.
What we do:
We honor and express our collective grief of lives lost due to Covid-19 by making a felt rose as a symbol for every life lost
We activate community spaces by creating Installations with the felt roses, representing the impact of Covid-19 on our communities
We create intergenerational, cross-community events that unite and comfort us as we grieve together, with the vision of creating a national event in Washington D.C.
We collect stories of lives lost due to Covid-19, in memorium
We share vaccination information
We share resources appropriate to each participating community
We empower families of those who lost their lives due to Covid-19 in partnership with Marked by Covid
We create alliances and support local activations throughout the nation
Activations
Topeka, Kansas
May 1 - 3
Topeka State Building
Installation spearheaded by
"A garden with a somber meaning is blooming outside the statehouse.
The gardener is Topeka West Junior, Anna Newcome, who is working towards her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Newcome’s spent Saturday planting 5,000 handmade felt roses near the front of the statehouse for her Gold Award project.
Each rose represents a Kansan who lost their life to COVID-19."
WIBW, Topeka, Kansas
The roses willthen go on to The Central Library of Kansas City, Missouiri.
Building Bridges Art Exchange, Los Angeles County
The installation is on display outdoors at the Bergamot Station Arts Center Parking lot until the end of April. The unveiling was live streamed for the public at 5pm and will be honored with the presence of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Manager, Shannon Daut, Rose River Memorial’s conductor, Marcos Lutyens, Building Bridges Art Exchange’s Director, Marisa Caichiolo, and the rest of the participant partners Galleries.
Christ Cathedral, Orange County
Our current memorial is on view at the Christ Cathedral until the end of June. The project memorialzes the more than 4,600 people who have died from Covid in Orange County. Special offerings are included for local Garden Grover community members lost to Covid.