HUG HUDDLE is a public art piece in which anyone is welcome to join in a hug and share a moment of connection.
Photo Nadia Amura
HUG HUDDLE is the inaugural public artwork for HAPPY CITY, which Stuart Semple will officially launch across Denver in May. HAPPY CITY: ART FOR THE PEOPLE is a six-week, citywide art intervention with the purpose of breaking down personal, emotional and social barriers in the urban environment and inciting widespread happiness. The project is envisioned by British artist Stuart Semple and produced by the Denver Theatre District with artistic direction by Black Cube. Six large-scale artworks will engage a number of downtown Denver locations, ranging from Denver’s Union Station to public plazas. For the first time, an artist will be working on a citywide level, collaborating with Denver in transforming high-profile locations through a series of colossal installations and breathtaking immersive experiences.
Staged concurrently in London and Denver, the HUG HUDDLE is a spontaneous artwork that takes the form of a public invitation to hug. For this work Semple invites strangers whom are to choose a person (or persons) at random for a hug. The “Hug Huddle” is a statement of empathy and togetherness and holds poignancy in a world that is increasingly divided. Everyone is welcome to show up and participate. Each event will be live streamed to the other, as well as online – sharing the moment of connection across both sides of the Atlantic and worldwide.
Stuart Semple is one of the UK’s leading post-YBA artists, globally famous for his joyfully inclusive public works and projects, from his HAPPY CLOUD performance at Tate Modern, where he flooded the London skyline with pink smiley soap clouds, to JUMP, a giant inflatable platform in Melbourne’s Federation Square.
JUST TURN UP ON THE 26TH MARCH – AND BE PART OF IT!
LONDON EVENT: HUG HUDDLE
Hug Huddle is a public art piece in which anyone is welcome to join in a hug and share a moment of connection
Potters Fields Park, Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 2AA
Monday 26 March 2018 5:30pm (event from 5pm)
FREE, JUST TURN UP!
DENVER EVENT HUG HUDDLE
Hug Huddle is a public art piece in which anyone is welcome to join in a hug and share a moment of connection
The Galleria at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80204
Monday 26 March 2018 10:30am (event 10:30-11:30am)
FREE, JUST TURN UP!
