“I chose Bangalore for my worldwide launch as it is a diverse and vibrant global city”, said Yazmany Arboleda, an artist from New York city. His floating installation attracted the curiosity of the young, elderly, employed, students and all others who were in or around Shivaji Nagar bus stand in the forenoon of 24th January 2011.The objective of the activity was to encourage people to start their Monday (work week) on a positive note.
With teenagers Divya and Gautam Ravindran from Shanti Bhavan assisting him enthusiastically, Arboleda invited around ten thousand passengers and passers by to be a part of his living sculpture. The creator (who volunteered at Shanti Bhavan for three months) and youngsters such as Vijay Gomes initiated conversations with members of the public by handing each of them an orange neon balloon. The exercise was not limited to those with jobs.
A peek into what happened that Monday morn’…