For my inaugural post I thought I would discuss something that occupies a lot of my free time. It is called Free Art Friday and it is an art based scavenger hunt that I play in Atlanta.
Though it is often pointed out that artists leaving art to be discovered by people on the street is not an original concept, the range and popularity of the Free Art Friday movement is impressive. It can be traced back to this web page and was born initially in England as way to engage with the public and bring a little whimsy and joy to the world at large. As the group description says, “go on, make someone’s day!”
In the last several years the concept has spread across the world, and it is easy to understand why. The game is played half online and half in the real world. After creating a work of art, the artist then goes out into their city and hides the piece. They can then take a picture and post the image to Instagram using the appropriate hashtag. For example, I follow #FAFATL.
This game is a wonderful example of social media can, and should, bring so many strangers together in a positive way. From the chaos of a city full of strangers emerges a network of people engaging with the world and people near them. From the promotion of gallery exhibitions of free art participants, to collaborations between artists, it makes your city a little smaller and friendlier knowing there is someone not too far away making something special for you to find.
As this Wall Street Journal article points out it also helps to have a strong visual knowledge of your city, and if you don’t have one, you will certainly develop one before too long.
If it seems like something you may want to try take a look at this page and see if there is an existing community in your city, if not, you can always start one.
