Mapping Palo Alto Together:
A Public Installation

I usually map my movements alone, but Mapping Palo Alto Together invited my new community to map alongside me. Funded by a 2022 City of Palo Alto ArtLift Micro-Grant, the project brought together seventy-five residents through seven community workshops.

Participants reflected on their daily lives during and after the pandemic, tracing a week of travel and color-coding their routes by day and feeling. As people drew, they shared stories about isolation, disrupted routines, and the joy of reconnecting. I scanned and wove their individual maps into one collaborative community drawing presented as public art in Palo Alto libraries. What began as separate journeys became a shared record of movement, memory, and connection.