The Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park will be open Monday, March 1 from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Marked By COVID, in partnership with The Floral Heart Project are hosting a floral artwork installation and digital Heartbleed display at the Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park on March 1^st 2021 to honor and memorialize the lives lost to COVID in Arizona. 

The memorial at the Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park will include a four-foot floral garland arranged artistically in the shape of heart. Live flowers are used as they are a traditional gift during loss and hearts because they are a simple way to showcase love and support. The flowers are provided in partnership with 1-800-flowers.

Attendees will be welcome to share their stories if they would like. Joyce Bailey, a COVID survivor, will sing Amazing Grace as the floral arrangement is placed.

HeartBleed is a digital projection COVID-19 memorial that will be displayed in the auditorium. The projection uses a rose petal for every person lost to COVID-19, time to each day of loss we’ve experienced since the start of the year. Every two seconds signifies a day that has passed. The digital display will be tailored to the COVID loss we have experienced in Arizona.

Masks and social distancing required.

To date, over 15,000 Arizonans have been lost to COVID-19 and these families are grieving their lost loved ones. Public memorials enable us to put faces to the numbers people see in the news and grieve as a community. They are a necessary and needed way to safely come together in a sense of unity and solace. If you have lost a loved one, we invite you to join us and share your story.

Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park, part of the Arizona Historical Society, is showcasing this memorial directly correlating with the Society’s mission: to become a model for historical research, preservation, and education, where people enjoy history and appreciate how it affects their present and future. This memorial is a way to honor the devastating loss of lives and ensure that those grieving in our community feel supported as we experience this piece of Arizona’s history.

Marked By COVID (“MBC”) is a grassroots movement founded by Kristin Urquiza after losing her father Mark, to COVID in Arizona in June 2020. MBC uplifts the stories of those who have been affected, supports families who have lost loved ones and host vigils and memorials nationally. The MBC community is actively turning grief into purpose by spreading COVID-19 awareness and education. Tara Krebbs began volunteering with MBC following the death of her father Charles to COVID-19 in August 2020.

The Floral Heart Project is an ongoing effort by artist Kristina Libby to provide healing, compassion and sympathy for those impacted by COVID-19. It began with her research on the impacts on society from the pandemic and was furthered with the revealing data that for every person we lose, 2-9 people will experience severe PTSD. Ms. Libby creates floral visualizations of those we have lost and to hold vigils for those suffering.

Questions?

Contact 480-929-0292 or [email protected].