By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP) decided to cancel all event-based programming and public gatherings until September.

Canceled events and programs include the Syracuse Ceramic Guild’s Pottery Fair, the Society for New Music’s Family Arts Day, and the Hal Welsh East Area Family YMCA’s Art Camp for Kids.

In SQHAP’s June/July 2020 newsletter, the non-profit organization announced several initiatives designed to engage the public in safe new ways.

In July, SQHAP will introduce a summer-long exhibition titled “Personal Programs.”

Unlike typical Art Park events, which are scheduled for set dates and times, these programs can be experienced by visitors independently, either in person or online.

“It’s art programming on-demand,” explained SQHAP CEO Emily Zaengle. “The goal is to provide something new for people to see and engage with every time they visit the Art Park (or our digital platforms) this summer. It was important to us that [all] engagement with the Art Park continues to be safe and healthy; for us that meant canceling anything that would encourage large gatherings. Personal Programs achieve a connection between artist, environment, and visitor, without the physical connection of being in the same place at the same time.”

As part of the Personal Programs initiative, SQHAP is inviting community members to experience their surroundings through “Art Park Viewfinders.”

According to Zaengle, a viewfinder is simply a piece of paper with a circle cut out of the center.

“Anyone can request a viewfinder or make their own,” she said. “When you look through [one] it frames your view, and you start to notice [new] things because you’re looking more carefully at what you’ve framed. For example, I took a picture through the viewfinder of my coffee mug the other morning. Until I looked at the photo I hadn’t noticed the reflection of the sky on the surface of my coffee. When I was looking only at that coffee mug through the viewfinder, I suddenly saw that everyday object in a new way. You can bring your viewfinder to the Art Park or you can use it at home.”

To request a free viewfinder, visit sqhap.org/news/art-park-viewfinder.

SQHAP is also providing visitors with a new way to experience the Hilltop House & Studio — the former home of SQHAP founders Dorothy and Robert Riester.

This summer, the house’s Garden Room will become a rotating exhibit, with one item from the Hilltop House collection displayed at a time. Visitors will be able to peek through the windows to see the selected object and its accompanying signage.

Sarah Tietje-Mietz, director of Hilltop House & Studio, developed the idea as a way to provide “access” to the home while the guided tours are postponed.

“In 2016, artist Kiki Sciullo did an exhibition that invited visitors to look through the windows to see a space set up like Dorothy’s studio,” said Zaengle. “That exhibition laid the foundation for this idea. Sarah will be working with an intern from the Syracuse University Museum Studies program on this project.”

Visit the Hilltop House’s Instagram for updates, stories and glimpses at the collection.

According to its latest newsletter, SQHAP is continuing a collective poeming initiative first featured in the May newsletter.

“Anyone can add a word to the grid, and then anyone can take those words and create various combinations of words to construct a poem,” Zaengle said. “You don’t have to have any experience with poetry, it is a fun and accessible way to play with words.”

Zaengle noted that SQHAP’s Artistic Director Sayward Schoonmaker came up with the idea as a way for the community to write together while remaining physically apart.

The June/July newsletter also says the organization is committed to social justice and stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“In the past the Art Park has not done enough to amplify the work of artists of color, and we have not looked critically enough at our role in shaping the arts at large,” the organization said. “We believe that art is a visionary and critical tool for change, but not if the art comes from the same voices and perspectives. We feel the call for action and the collective determination for change and we are listening . . . We must rigorously imagine an Art Park that is more inclusive, equitable, and accessible. What we can imagine we can work to create.”

According to the statement, the art park has committed to ongoing action and conversations about racism, power, and privilege within the organization. Updates will be posted online.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Art Park’s trails remain open seven days a week from dawn to dusk for passive recreation at no cost to visitors.

According to Zaengle, the financial impact of the pandemic-related cancellations remains to be seen.

In addition to donating to the Art Park’s annual fund, supporters are asked to consider donating to the Robert and Dorothy Riester Fund for Stone Quarry Hill Art Park Preservation, administered by the Central New York Community Foundation. Annual disbursements from this fund support the maintenance of SQHAP’s buildings and grounds. To learn more, visit cnycf.org/stonequarry – .XvPYV5NKhok.

“We have been able to reschedule artists for next summer, 2021 and have paid a portion of their stipends to hold their place,” she said. “Without public gatherings we won’t see the number of visitors we are used to seeing at a particular event, but we have seen an increase in the number of visitors coming to utilize our grounds and hike the trails. The community has been so supportive of the Art Park during this time and it’s that support that will help us through this.”

Zaengle added that the Art Park’s new approach to programming is not temporary and that the organization has no intention of “returning to normal.”

“What we learn this summer will inform how we run programs in the future,” she said. “ . . . It’s the artists’ work that is creating the visitor experience this summer. We love that and we want to do more of [it.]”

To learn more about SQHAP programs and events, visit sqhap.org/ or call 315-655-3196.