THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ON DEMAND /// This mesmerising installation brings the experience of the Northern Lights to cities the world over. Time slows down as eyes look up. An aurora, here and now, in our latitudes? Throughout the ages, we have attributed countless legends to the celestial phenomenon. Today we can replicate it. Dan Acher's BOREALIS is about our ancestral communion with nature and our more recent compulsion to control it. It’s about inspiring shared emotions in the center of [...]

THE EYES OF THE WORLD ON CLIMATE ACTION /// #WeAreWatching is a monumental eye, made up of thousands of portraits contributed from 190 countries. It flies high above cities on a flag the size of a 10-storey building, raised at key climate events to hold leaders accountable as they decide the future of our planet.  Its message is crystal-clear : the eyes of the world are upon you. The COP26 United Nations Conference on Climate Change will take place in November 2021 [...]

SECRETS /// Sharing what makes us human and finding a ritual peace through fire; a participative art installation bringing communities together. SECRETS creates a space where people can process their personal experiences together, in a safe and positive atmosphere. It combines private and public rites of affirmation and release, and will take on different local meanings as communities across the world invest in it. Seven wooden letters, three and a half metres high, are erected in a circular formation on a large [...]

We have the choice between collective action or collective suicide. The Hopeless/Hopeful artivist action took place following the removal by the local government of a tree that had secretly been planted overnight, alongside several others throughout the city of Geneva, by an anonymous collective. As a response to the tree’s removal we mapped out its branches and canopy on the grass below to show the scale of the shade it would have provided if allowed to grow. United Nations Secretary [...]

THE OSR CELEBRATES ITS FIRST CENTURY //// To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande stepped out of its concert halls and took to the streets of Geneva and the Festival Lumières Lausanne. Imagine a symphony orchestra in front of you.... You dream of stepping onto the stage and drifting amongst the musicians, listening to each of their instruments. Street Light Orchestra is.... Four street lamps, each of which plays a sound track from a family of instruments: brass, strings, woodwind, percussion. The [...]

RECLAIM THE WATERFRONT /// In June 2016 Happy City Lab designed a new lakeside space for the City of Geneva : L’Escale. A participative pop-up village designed to encourage people of all walks to reclaim Geneva's (lake!) banks. Playing and dancing with friends and strangers while supporting local artists and associations; a win-win scenario that had people coming back for more, night and day. L’Escale was made up of participative installations; grand piano, giant boombox, magnetic poetry, games, a reading corner and book exchange customised modules built primarily from recycled materials concerts, dance [...]

CATALAN CREATIONS /// In collaboration with the Geneva International Book and Press Fair, our creative zone La Fabrique 2019 was Barcelona-themed. The space hosted various artistic and participative events: Writing workshop on paper strips, suspended in the style of the Festas Major de Gràcia, a collaborative mosaic fresco like those of the Park Güell, and, in the Boqueria Market, an assortment of literary workshops with found poetry, comic bubbles to complete and poetry salad. Visitors immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the Catalan capital and explored [...]

A TOWERING INSTALLATION /// After Japan and Australia, BOREALIS lights up the mythical Tower of London. THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ON DEMAND /// This mesmerising installation brings the experience of the Northern Lights to cities the world over. Time slows down as eyes look up. An aurora, here and now, in our latitudes? Throughout the ages, we have attributed countless legends to the celestial phenomenon. Today we can replicate it. BOREALIS is about our ancestral communion with nature and our more recent compulsion to [...]

AUSTRALIA HOSTS THE NORTHERN LIGHTS /// A big success for Dan Acher's installation BOREALIS at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2018 with over 500 000 visitors. “In the best possible way, there was a lot of the f-word going around the South Australian Museum Adelaide as the installation first came to life. People were in awe and there was this common emotion, like: What IS this?? I was so happy to experience this with the crowd, seeing the wonder, the emotion that was triggered”, says [...]

CREATIVE ZONE /// The Factory is a vibrant creative zone, designed in collaboration with the Geneva International Book and Press Fair, and now in its fifth year of production. In this space you're no longer just a visitor – here, everyone is invited to EXPRESS themselves. Creative prompts are given in each space and everything at hand becomes a medium for writing and posting: notebooks, coloured paper, scissors, Scotch tape, staplers, glue, walls, clothes lines. The organized chaos of The Factory allows invited [...]