3. Grand Opening of Bunny Hill (2021), Cannon Beach, Oregon
This is public event and project was my graduate project for graduating with my MFA Degree. To some locals in Cannon Beach, bunnies are bad; to other locals in Cannon Beach, bunnies are good. Being the first event in Cannon Beach made with and for our local community instead of for tourists, this day was a day highlighting the diverse perspectives and opinions and relationships that people in our community have with the bunnies. Some people want to kill the bunnies, some people love the bunnies, and some people capture the bunnies to save them from the wild; all of these opinions were included in the “To Exist” film I made about the wild bunnies in Cannon Beach.
The Grand Opening of Bunny Hill consisted of a bunny panel with scientists, artists and local community members, a bunny tour and walk, and a bunny film of collective stories from the local community, which was shown at Cannon Beach Arts Gallery/Association. We had a ribbon cutting ceremony where I cut the grand opening ribbon to publically commemerate that we were naming Bunny Hill a public historic site, becuase of the collective voices in the community creating narrative and share history around the wild bunnies at Bunny Hill.
This day was a space for everyone to come together to explore their unique opinion about the bunnies in our community, and to also consider this topic through the lens of localism: are the bunnies considered locals? Are they not? Should they be killed off? How long does it take for someone to become a local or what makes someone a local? How are systemic issues such as racism and homelessness, and immigration, reflected in these wild bunnies and their place in the community?
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4. Bunny Meditation Tours (2022), Cannon Beach, Oregon
I created this job for myself. From January to July 2022, I shared my passion for the wild Cannon Beach bunnies with others through faciliating bunny meditation tours. I shared with guests how to respect the bunnies and also seeing how bunnies being in the presence of bunnies can be therapeutic as mediation for our mental health.
For each experience, I would meet the guests at Bunny Hill, a community named public site (read about my previous project above). This site is where bunnies congregate together with a view of the beach. I facilitated outdoor mediations, shared the historical narrative of the bunnies, taught guests how to respect the bunnies, shared the 7 life lessons from the Cannon Beach Bunnies, and shared with them my film, To Exist, about the Cannon Beach Bunnies. No feeding the bunnies allowed.