Joyous Open Lake 2019-2022
di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa California
Susanne Cockrell - creative director
Irene Sazer - composer/musician
Joyous Open Lake investigates the lake at di Rosa as a shared resource and refuge for thinking about public ritual, resilience, and human and ecological loss in climate change and troubled times.
Joyous Open Lake weaves a collective biography examining social and environmental changes and histories reflected in the land at di Rosa including catastrophic drought and wildfire, the changing migratory patterns of birds, songs and stories of the Patwin People, undocumented farm labor issues, and the vivid dreams of local residents. Designed as an audio-scape, people will listen on their phones as they walk along the lake. Featuring original music by composer Irene Sazer.
At the invitation of Andrea Saenz Williams, director of Education and Civic Engagement at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in 2018, I proposed collaborating with the lake on site. I spent time in 2019 researching and photographing the lake and began interviewing people for the project, which aims to bring together communities in Napa that have shared histories. In 2020 the project came to a halt due to budget issues and COVID.
Winery Lake in 2019 and below, summer 2021.





