In the fall of 2005, Pam Lins had the idea to make a parade with the students of Cooper Union. Lins was Ashford’s colleague at Cooper Union and had also taught Three-Dimensional Design there for many years. The two of them collaborated on a weekly basis, borrowing each others prompts and assignments, urging the school to open up its curriculum, advocating for more opportunities for students for non-linear learning and multiform engagement. Lins’ effect on the school was permanent and legendary.
The local police precinct was approached and permission was provided to use the full length of the Bowery from Houston to Cooper Square. Students in all four class sections of Three-Dimensional Design were assigned the project, but many others from advanced art students to those enrolled outside he School of Art built projects for this day.
For many who participated, this yearly event lives on as one of their brightest memories of The Cooper Union. As a collectively made work of art, it epitomized the capacity of a school (or any group of learning people) to reimagine the conditions of a loved city.
