The Urban Conga

Molecules is one of our newest public installations. The work consists of a series of five sets of interactive water molecules rising from the Arizona Canal in Scottsdale, Arizona. The interactive work creates an opportunity of reflection on the climate crisis and discussion of where this water is going and who has access to this water. The piece is a part of the annual Canal Convergence event in which this year's theme was Reflections. The work showcases that much like our communities, the water within the canal is created by a series of interpersonal connections between neighboring elements. Utilizing physical reflection of light and sound to create an ever-changing experience that allows users to play with the lighting and reflections of the work both during the day and at night. The work highlights that our individual response can create an impact, but when we are louder and work together the more significant the response will be. Photos by Charles Darr and Andrew Pielage #canalconvergence #climatechange #interactiveart #publicart #lightart #water #arizona #theurbanconga #playeverywhere

We are honored to announce that one of our recent projects titled The Hive, a community-led redesign of a city-owned alley in a residential block of Albany, NY’s West Hill neighborhood that was co-designed with the West Hill community and created in partnership with Van Alen Institute, and City of Albany, New York was selected as a finalist for the City Nation Place Awards for Best Placemaking Initiative 2024! This community-led project showcases the power of community coming together through adversity to create positive impact within the West Hill neighborhood! More to come soon about The Hive!

Check out this great article in Next City by Cinnamon Janzer about our project "Sprout" with the Center for Justice Innovation and New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) co-designed with and for the Polo Grounds Community in Harlem, NY! https://lnkd.in/eqXiTzWa

We recently collaborated with residents at the Polo Grounds Towers in Harlem, NY, to co-design our newest project Sprout, a multisensory neurodiverse playscape. The project was organized by the Polo Grounds neighborhood stakeholder team (NSTAT) along with the?Center for Justice Innovation?as a part of the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP) that reimagines public safety and well-being through place-based resident-driven decision-making and government investment. Sprout was created to provide communal connection among Polo Grounds residents, giving them a new space to converse, learn, and grow from one another. Check out this great video showcasing the project! #playscape #NewYorkCity #NYCHA #playeverywhere #neurodiversedesign #neurodiversity #codesign #communitydesign #placekeeping #placemaking #publicspace #publicsculpture #art New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

We are honored to be the featured artist at Canal Convergence this year in Scottsdale, Arizona! We will be creating a large-scale interactive work that will be suspended over the Arizona Canal! Check out the article below to find out more about the work and event. Scottsdale Arts https://lnkd.in/e3Y2ZhZ5

Our project Optik was recently at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for their Big Umbrella Day, a day centered around engaging audiences by sharing unique approaches to multi-sensory, interactive, and engaging artistic experiences designed with and for neurodiverse audiences.? Here are some amazing pictures of the work at the Lincoln Center! Massive thanks to Creos and Serge Maheu! Photos by: Lawrence Sumulong, Sean Chee, and Serge Maheu

Interwoven is an open-ended communal space providing a place for residents to listen, observe, dream, and reflect. The space was created in Garrett Park in Baltimore, Maryland where the local neighborhood is painted with a false narrative of negativity, but the community is strong and craves positive communal connection. From the early conversations of the desires and hopes of the community to the final design of Interwoven – the community has gifted their stories, experiences, feedback, and more to enhance their neighborhood and create a brighter future. Interwoven consists of four stepped seating structures that point directionally towards different areas of the neighborhood and city, reflecting those views onto the work itself. On each of the four separate pieces, prompts are in place to provide open discussion, intimate conversation, and private reflection on the issues within the neighborhood and hopes for a better future. These prompts ask the questions of what do you dream, what do you hear, what do you see, and what do you feel. Each serving as a conversation starter in the space.?Keeping the main space open for programming like community meetings, dance classes, birthday parties, movie nights, and more - the ground mural creates an open-ended game space to spark playful imagination by use of its interweaving geometric shapes. The interweaving pattern of the work creates a safe, playful, and open-ended space for the community to make their own

We are honored to have our project titled "Portal" receive the NYCxDESIGN People's Choice Award! Massive thanks to Agency Landscape + Planning and The Bay Park Conservancy, Inc. for trusting us to create this work as a part of the new Bay Park development!! #nycdesignawards2024

Over the past few years, we have had the honor of working with the West Hill Community, Albany Victory Gardens, SNUG, Van Alen Institute, City of Albany, New York, Stantec, and so many other amazing organizations and people to reimagine a once underutilized alleyway into a communal hub of hope and aspiration! We are excited that "The Hive" alleyway project is now set to be completed by this summer! Check out this amazing video by local Albany organization YouthFX that showcases the importance of investing in a community led design process! Stay tuned for more on the project to come! #communitydesign #process #codesign #placemaking #playmaking #albany #newyork #design #publicspace #community #urbandesign

Wow, we are already over a month into 2024, and we haven't had a chance to reflect on 2023 and all the amazing opportunities we had, and the great friends we made! We had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people, creating a wide range of projects that utilized play methodologies to spark inclusive communal connections within the public realm. Here are just a few selected images from this past year. #playablecities #publicart #publicspaces #placemaking #placekeeping #playableart #interactiveart #communitydesign #fabrication