Carlos Aviles | San Diego Union Tribune
A siren mounted 9 meters high, which in times of war would announce air raids, surprised Rudy Campos and his girlfriend Elena Melgar while they were posing for artistic photos in Los Angeles State Historic Park.
But the sounds they heard weren’t warning them of any danger; on the contrary, the melody played from the elevated pole consisted of recordings of bird sounds.
“It’s very curious, I thought it was a birdhouse,” said Campos, as he went to read the description of the unusual project.
The public sound installation is a work called “Songs of Emerging Endangerment,” which was commissioned for this park by Clockshop, a non-profit organization that seeks to connect communities with the land they inhabit through culture and art.
The organization has several projects in which it collaborates directly, such as the ambitious BowTie Project, a new park coming to the Los Angeles River, and is also creating a cultural atlas called “Take Me to Your River,” among other projects.
“Our mission is to work with artists to connect communities with the land they live on, and we do this to create a shared vision of the future,” explains Sue Bell Yank, the organization’s executive director.
Bell Yank explains that Clockshop was founded by filmmaker Julia Meltzer in 2004, after she realized, through her experiences in other parts of the world, that in her hometown of Los Angeles, much of the public space is privatized.
“She noticed that there is very little public and common space, despite the large area of land and the population density. In other cities where she had lived, there was much more access to public spaces and parks in the neighborhoods,” he notes.
Clockshop produces free public programs and commissions projects from contemporary artists in public spaces to better connect Los Angeles residents with the natural environment.
Through collaborations with artists, like-minded organizations, and local stakeholders, Clockshop promotes environmental stewardship and climate resilience within communities.
This project in Los Angeles State Historic Park is one example of these collaborations.
These air raid sirens can be seen throughout the Los Angeles urban landscape and are a relic of the Cold War, having ceased operation in the 1980s, Bell Yank notes.
“But [the artist] TJ Shin was very interested in the impact of the Cold War and militarization, and how this has influenced migration and the current diaspora of people settling in different places, and in connecting these ideas to migratory birds,” she recounts. “So we invited people who are part of the diaspora from countries along the Pacific Australasian migratory route to contribute imitations of bird songs.”
The result is this project that draws curious onlookers to the base of this air raid siren transformed into a work of art.
But this project is just one of several that Clockshop is working on.
According to its director, their projects focus on working-class communities of color in Los Angeles and seek to support the well-being and vitality of diverse communities, whether Indigenous, African American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or immigrant communities living in Los Angeles.
The Bowtie
Clockshop is partnered with the California State Parks Department on The Bowtie project.
The Bowtie is 18 acres of undeveloped industrial land along the Los Angeles River in the northeast of the city, which will be restored into a vibrant green space that will bring back wildlife and native plants to the area.
The name “Bowtie” comes from the shape of the land. It is already a popular community space where residents can stroll at their leisure to take a break from everyday urban life.
“We started developing programs there, with the approval of California State Parks, bringing in artist projects, organizing public programs, holding community and family days, with the goal of getting people to start establishing a connection with that place and imagining what a future public park there would be like, what it could be like,” the Clockshop director explains.
The Bowtie is located within Taylor Yard, the former site of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which had been a rail terminal and a major local employer. When rail operations ceased, local community residents advocated for their vision of revitalizing 100 acres of the land as park space, Bell Yank explains.
“It’s currently under construction. So the project is moving forward. It’s becoming a park that will be fully open to the public in 2029, although a portion will be open before then.”
Cultural Atlas ‘Take Me to Your River’
“Take Me to Your River: A Cultural Atlas of the Los Angeles River” is a three-year collaborative cultural history and mapping project initiated by Clockshop. “Take Me to Your River” seeks to celebrate the diverse experiences of those who live in Northeast Los Angeles, specifically in the neighborhoods surrounding the Glendale Narrows stretch of the Los Angeles River, including Elysian Valley, Atwater Village, Cypress Park, and Glassell Park.
The project is a celebration of the communities that make up Northeast Los Angeles and a dynamic reflection on how this area is changing rapidly and drastically. As gentrification displaces local residents, it also erases the complex histories of these neighborhoods.
Part of those histories are reflected in videos from community participants, such as Yancey Quiñonez, who grew up and has lived his entire life in Cypress Park.
Riding his bicycle through his neighborhood, Quiñonez narrates how the neighborhood has changed in appearance and design.
“These houses are selling for a million dollars nowadays. A million dollars! Here in our little old Cypress Park, because of the economy and gentrification and all that,” he says in the video published within the atlas.
“If you went down 28th Avenue, you would run into pockets of gang members. And sometimes they would hang out here too,” he narrates before running into some people.
“What’s up guys? How are you, Mario? Mario, you look the same. You look good. I’m 47 years old.” I was 10 years old when I used to come around here. And that guy is still there doing the same thing he always does, just drinking, having a great life,” she remarks with a smile.
The video atlas of stories is a project that is constantly being updated.
The executive director says they want to continue receiving stories from the community.
“We invite people to get in touch with us if they have a good story they would like to share. We also believe it’s an excellent resource for teachers, journalists, and really anyone who writes about these communities,” she explained.
Scholarships
Clockshop also offers a youth fellowship program focused on art and environmental advocacy. This six-week summer program is designed for a small group of high school students from Northeast Los Angeles.
Through workshops with experts, field trips, and collaborative projects, participants explore their own neighborhoods from the perspectives of art, urban design, environmental justice, and policy. The fellowship is free, and each participant receives a $2,500 stipend to support their future studies.
Eligibility requirements include being currently enrolled in 10th or 11th grade and residing in or attending school in Northeast Los Angeles. Applicants should have an interest in the intersection of art, community, ecology, and civil rights advocacy.
Applications for Summer 2026 will open in February 2026.
For more information about other Clockshop projects and events, please visit www.clockshop.org.
This story was produced by American Community Media in collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA as part of the Greening American Cities initiative supported by the Bezos Earth Fund. Read more stories like this by visiting the Greening Communities homepage.
