On June 14, the City of Burbank and Burbank Cultural Arts
Commission revealed the Rose River Memorial, an art installation made in collaboration with
artist Marcos Lutyens, Burbank Volunteer Program (BVP) members, Burbank Tournament of
Roses Association (BTORA), and the Rose River Memorial Project honoring the lives lost to
COVID-19.
The art installation will be on display for public viewing through June 22, 2021, at the front steps of City Hall.
The Memorial is part of the nationwide art movement, Rose River Memorial, which honors and grieves the lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project invites communities across the
country to create felt roses as a symbol of grief and as a remembrance for all the lost lives.
As part of the project, BTORA welded from metal a “B”, and BVP members made more than 350
felt roses for Burbank’s art installation. The roses made for Burbank’s memorial will ultimately make their way to Washington D.C. for the larger exhibit in 2022.
Burbank’s Rose River Memorial installation was commemorated by an intimate ceremony
outside of City Hall, with a blessing from Cantor Rebekah Mirsky, a poem read by Jocelyn F.
Wright, and music by Levi Chen, Connie Nassios, and Tony Selvage and remarks from Mayor
Bob Frutos and artist Marcos Lutyens.
“After a year of troubling times and lost lives due to COVID-19, Burbank’s Rose River Memorial
art installation provides our community members an opportunity for emotional healing and
memorializing of their loved ones.
I invite our community members to visit the memorial and honor the lives lost from this pandemic,” said Mayor Bob Frutos.
I am glad Burbank is doing this. 24,000 deaths happened just in LA county. I know a few who got it in Burbank and it (was) such a serious problem. I feel this should be memorialized especially in a nation where many people didn’t seem to care, some didn’t lose people close to them, and many still chose to deny it. This is a beautiful way of commemorating a very hard and sad time in our recent history. I really hope we’ve gotten through it, Covid changed us, public health, everything. We need to ‘know’ it happened, the losses we felt, and remind people.
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