For Devra Freelander

A few days ago, I found out Devra Freelander was killed while riding her bicycle in Brooklyn. I still can’t believe it. She was a fantastic sculptor and community organizer, radiating with smile, openness and humor. I met her while she was in an artist residency at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and again at the Wassaic Project. Although I met her only a few times, she was remarkably kind, curious and generous. She cofounded a feminist sculptors collective Material Girls and I was fortunate to befriend them through Devra. They were planning exciting exhibitions and initiatives last time we met. Devra had great ideas and the skills to build them. She also didn’t hesitate to share her time to help other artists to build their ideas. Her art addressed the environmental justice and she was mindful about sculpting with physical materials. She found beauty in the raw materials and transformed them into poetic objects with delight. I will remember her as a beaming light of creativity and generosity, much like her sculptures. Her untimely death makes me think about safety of riding bicycles in New York City. I hope to live in a society where a person’s life is prioritized over delivering cements to build more condominiums in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. “Despite efforts toward progress, Freelander’s death paints an ominous picture for residents of East Williamsburg and Bushwick, two long-overlooked post-industrial neighborhoods in Brooklyn that have recently become hotbeds of gentrification” from her obituary on Surface Magazine. I’m deeply troubled by disturbing comments and behaviors by the truck drivers that turn the blame back to the cyclists. I will hold my anger, as our sorrow is greater. The mayor responded to her and many others’ death, and promised to make changes in policies around bicycle and pedestrian safety. If we can learn from Devra’s imaginative adaptability, can we imagine a different kinds of urban life?

My sincere condolences to her families, friends, loved ones.