The Color Field art installation at City Park’s historic Lily Pond is the brain child of Denver artists’, Sarah and Josh Palmeri. It is also their loving gift to Denver park visitors. Conceived of pre-pandemic, Color Field was scheduled for installation in May, 2020 to great fanfare and recognition of its sponsor, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFAN) and funders, Denver Arts and Venues, CPFAN, City Park Alliance, Denver Zoo, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
When the pandemic hit, all well-laid plans went by the wayside. Denver Arts and Venues and the Denver Department of Parks and Recreation came to the rescue. With their support, Sarah and Josh, along with a crack crew of friends and CPFAN volunteers were given the green light to pound 6,000 painted gardening stakes into the rock solid soil of the long-abandoned seed beds of the Lily Pond. The fanfare was dispensed with and everyone threw themselves into a project meant to bring delight to City Park visitors. It was their bright and hopeful gift to the community at a time of crisis and despair.
Sequoyah Hayes‘ reflection on and land acknowledgement of Color Field perfectly affirms everything about the art installation, from its original intent to its evolution and subsequent enjoyment by the public at large. The formerly lonely and deserted Lily Pond has come to life. It is now one of the more popular spots for picnicking, social distanced gathering and meditating in City Park. It has inspired a new initiative by new CPFAN Board member, Kelly Crosby to engage area students in future temporary art installations in City Park.
Sequoya Hayes is the founder of Red Linen Moon, a wellness and social practice consulting firm that provides social work services through a queer feminist lens. Red Linen Moon specifically serves as a resource for trauma-informed yoga, individual and group therapy, and customized employee wellness support. Sequoya holds a BA in Behavioral and Social Sciences from East West University, a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and a certification in Yoga Teacher Training through SATYA Yoga Co-op in Denver, the first POC owned yoga cooperative in the country
