Sunrise/Sunset Sound Meditation for the Walnut People’s Garden

At the beginning of the stay-at-home order in March 2020, a coalition of neighbors, students, and workers in Kansas City turned a vacant lot into a community garden called the Walnut People’s Garden. In August members of the garden were approached by private developers informing them that a three-story luxury apartment complex was slated for construction on September 30th. 

For the week of 9/14/2020 - 9/20/2020, I visited the Walnut People’s Garden to reflect, listen, and ask what the plants and people of the community were feeling about the possible destruction and threats to the garden. Each day I spent time playing my viola with the garden, speaking to the plants, and listening for messages. I played my viola for the kale, the beans, the broccoli, the sunflowers, the birds, and everything that was present in those moments. I played sounds of protest in front of the giant drill truck as it tore into the earth and shook the garden. I hung strings of bells in the trees to play and send protection to the garden. At the end of the week, on Sunday, September 20th, I performed two public sound healing meditations for the garden and community using the messages I had received. 

The first performance began at sunrise. Using my viola I softly bowed harmonics of peace and tranquility. I rang the bells in the trees with the birds waking. I traveled around to each plant and person playing the notes that were asked of me. This performance was 45 minutes long. 

The second performance began at sunset. During this time I held space for protection, grief, healing, and new beginnings. I used amplified viola, my voice, bells, a rainstick, and a looping station to create an atmospheric sonic experience. As the sky darkened my sounds were joined by a chorus of cicadas and crickets against the urban soundscape. This performance was 60 minutes long. 

Rising and setting with the sun are opportunities to reflect, respect, and feel the natural transitions of nature. However, if the garden is demolished, these ecosystems will be destroyed, leaving us out of balance with nature and disconnected from its harmony. My intention was to use sound to ease the transition the garden was experiencing and create space for new beginnings.