This work is a collaboration with science and technology studies scholar Christy Spackman and cultural geographer Kevin McHugh. Through a series of fieldwork interventions, this work explores feelings of belonging in Mesa, Arizona, intending to contribute to bridging cultural divides within the community. During the Spring of 2023, we partnered with the Mesa Arts Center’s Mobile Arts-Based Engagement Lab (MABEL), which allowed us to foster connections with diverse communities in Mesa. We engaged the Washington Escobedo and District 2 neighborhoods and their communities by inviting people to engage in two creative activities. 1) The making of scented collages as a way to explore which scents they feel belong in their life or are displaced. 2) The creation of message boards to express the scents they observe and don’t feel belong in their neighborhood.

Credits
Artists: Lauryn Mannigel, Christy Spackman
Photography: Lauryn Mannigel (Escobedo Park), Domo Brown (District 2)
Video: Domo Brown
Production: Dances With Tech
Image/video license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Partner: Mobile Art-Based Engagement Lab (MABEL
)
Supported by: Humanities Institute & Creative Constellation, Design and Arts Corps grants, Arizona State University, Tempe (US)
Special thanks to: Kevin McHugh, Cecilia Darter, Naina Misra & Oluwabukola Makinde