‘Discovery Labyrinth’ is not a maze but aims to be amazing
Ten years ago, Reginald Adams says he couldn’t explain the difference between a labyrinth and a maze. That changed in 2014 when Adams signed onto Historic Freedmen’s Town Labyrinth project. He and a group of fellow artists were challenged with creating a labyrinth at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, a Texas Historical Commission marked site in Fourth Ward founded by previously enslaved families following their emancipation in 1865.
They were given tons of crushed granite and sand and roughly 10,000-square-feet of working space.
A maze, Adams learned, is riddled with multiple deadends, cul-de-sacs and tricks of the mind. “A labyrinth is one single, unicursal path,” he shares. “It’s a metaphor for life — your purpose is your center. As long as you stay on the path, you’ll get to the center. The same path that leads us in, leads us out.”
By his estimation, Adams has since created more than 100 labyrinths around the world. His latest installation, “Discovery Labyrinth” at Discovery Green, recently opened to the public. And just in time for World Labyrinth Day on May 8.
What’s a triune?
“The location is the most unique because it’s so accessible,” Adams says. “People don’t go to Discovery Green to walk a labyrinth. This is smack dab in your face. The best labyrinth is a used one.”
“Discovery Labyrinth,” located on the Sarofim Picnic Lawn, is a three-circuit triune; three pathways lead to and from its center. Over a one-week period leading up to Earth Day on April 22, 350 Houston children and adults each painted a recycled cinder block, the primary material of “Discovery Labyrinth.” Corporate volunteers later filled the holes of the concrete cinder blocks with potting soil, perennial flowers and LED lights.
“They illuminate the path after sunset,” he explains. “At night, it looks like this beautiful alien implanted installation on Earth. I have a friend who lives in the high-rise across the street, and I just happened to come over and see it.”
Adams knows of labyrinth enthusiasts who travel across the globe to experience different ones. Navigating the winding passages can be a form of meditation or prayer. As a Wyoming native who’s called Houston home for the past 30 years, he’s proud to introduce such a structure at one of the Bayou City’s most well-attended parks.
“The labyrinth has taken me all over the world, and now I’ve had the opportunity to bring a sacred space that transforms the environment into a cultural destination,” he says.
Adams describes himself as a little kid who loved to draw and never grew up. Some of his earliest memories are of selling drawings of a friend in kindergarten for a quarter.
“Those minor moments are valuable for artists. I had people buying my work early. That taught me there’s value to this thing,” he recalls. “I’m thankful for a really supportive family. I always knew I had support around my artwork and creativity.”
Adams knew he wasn’t meant for a traditional path. Pursuing a traditional four-year college degree and “good job” just weren’t in the cards for him.
Chasing art
So what brought him to Houston? “I was chasing this crazy three-letter word called ‘art,’ ” he chuckles.
Michelle Barnes, co-founder and CEO of Community Artists’ Collective, offered Adams a job teaching an art class. Later, through working with the organization now known as Houston Arts Alliance, he learned how to write grants and propose his own projects.
Over the past three decades, he’s produced and facilitated the design of more then 350 public art projects across the Greater Houston area, primarily in historic and underserved communities. Recent standouts include Art of Sound & Healing
at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts, a Juneteenth mural “Absolute Equality” in Galveston and “Black Mount Rushmore” alongside The Breakfast Klub.
His various projects have enlisted the help of approximately 50,000 youth volunteers throughout his 30-year career. “Discovery Labyrinth” at Discover Green is no different.
“This project is a good example of everything I’ve learned of public art and experiences,” Adams says. Ahead of the art installation’s opening last month, he and park leadership brainstormed a weeklong series of activations. “We wanted something that would engage people from all walks of life.”
Those events aren’t over just yet. On June 21, he’ll lead a special Solstice Walk through “Discovery Labyrinth.”
Adams says he’ll pop by the park on World Labyrinth Day, too, and anytime he’s in the neighborhood. So far, he’s been pleased by the installation’s reception. “There’s not a day that goes by that there’s not a line of people experiencing it.”