Streets Dept to Takeover the Barnes Foundation’s Instagram to Explore ‘Person of the Crowd’ Installations Around Philly

Y’all, for YEARS I’ve been saying that one of the best routines I’ve even gotten myself in to is taking regular meandering walks. I even repeated this just a few weeks ago on Instagram. I try to walk at least an hour every day. I try to walk new ways to the same places as often as I can. And I try at least once or twice a month to take one really long walk with absolutely no goals or aims in mind, just going wherever I go. Meandering walks always work to help me digest the day, find inspiration, and focus myself. I say they’re the key not only to my sanity, but to my creativity!

And right now – inside the Barnes Foundation and all around the city of Philadelphia – there’s an exhibition going on that celebrates contemporary artists who do just that: meander. Or as they call it, flânerie. The word “flânerie” means to stroll aimlessly, and since the beginning of the Industrial Age, countless artists have used this technique of meandering around bustling, burgeoning cities to reflect on the world around them.

Person of the Crowd: The Contemporary Art of Flânerie celebrates the spirit of flânerie with over 50 international artists who have taken to the street to play detective, make fantastic maps, scavenge and shop for new materials, launch guerrilla campaigns, and make provocative spectacles of themselves to speak to issues as diverse as commodity fetishism, gentrification, gender politics, globalization, racism, and homelessness.

The exhibition is on view February 25 through May 22, 2017 at the Barnes Foundation, and features works, new performances, and historical pieces by Marina Abramović, Vito Acconci, Eleanor Antin, Constant, David Hammons, and Zhang Huan, among many others.

In addition to the work inside the Barnes, there are quite a number of pieces installed outside all around town on the streets of Philadelphia. And as someone who of course LOVES art in the public space, I’m thrilled to announce today that I’m partnering with the Barnes Foundation to take over their Instagram account for the next week starting tomorrow to explore these publicly displayed works from their inspired #PersonOfTheCrowd exhibition… Be sure to FOLLOW ALONG here, there’s so much good work!