An Audio Tour Of Green-Wood Cemetery Reflects On Death And Life During The Pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, singer Gelsey Bell was writing an opera as artist-in-residence at the HERE Arts Center in Manhattan. But as the months passed and stages stayed dark, she started thinking creatively about places where audiences could safely enjoy a performance. She settled on Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

"I grew up in a small town in California, and there was a cemetery I could walk to," said Bell. "If I really wanted to think through something or was feeling particularly angsty, I always went to the cemetery."

Bell's new work, "Cairns", takes its name from the simple stone piles that people have used for millennia to mark important places, like footpaths or burial sites. In the piece, Green-Wood's headstones and mausoleums are both gravesites and trail markers on Bell's tour of the 182-year-old cemetery's residents, both famous and obscure.

"Part of it for me was discovering people I didn't necessarily know in the cemetery and getting to know more about them," said Bell.

To take part, all a listener needs to do is buy “Cairns” through Bandcamp, download them to their phone, and press play at the cemetery’s entrance on 4th Avenue and 35th Street.

For the full story, click "Listen."

“Cairns,” a soundwalk created by @herearts Artist Residency Program Artist @gelseybell and composer Joseph White, offers the listener an opportunity for a solitary poetic journey through Green-Wood. #soundwalk #stillHEREirl

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— The Green-Wood Cemetery (@GreenWoodHF) July 30, 2020