OPEN AIR by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer illuminated the night sky from Philadelphia’s historic Benjamin Franklin Parkway from September 20 – October 14, 2012. This interactive light experience, directed by participants’ voices and GPS locations, broadcast a sense of urban connection and complicity. Inspired by the city’s tradition of democracy and respect for free speech, the artist created this “platform for participation” specifically for Philadelphia.

OPEN AIR established a new kind of communal space that celebrated individuality and community, as people from all walks of life gathered to participate, watch, and listen - both onsite and online. Using a free mobile app developed by Lozano-Hemmer’s studio, participants recorded and submitted 30 second messages: shout-outs, poems, songs, rants, dedications, and even some marriage proposals. In response, 24 powerful robotic searchlights, stationed along a half-mile section of the Parkway, created unique, dynamic light formations in the sky. The lights reacted in brightness and position to the GPS locations of participants and the frequency and amplitude of their voice recordings, which could be heard through the app, the project website, and on public speakers at the Project Information Center and Information Outpost along the Parkway. Each evening, invited community and cultural groups launched OPEN AIR with their messages. Then, priority was given to those submitting messages from the Parkway.

For those not onsite, enabled users to record messages that were archived and activated if other web visitors rated them highly. “Voices of Philly,” curated in collaboration with our local PBS station, sent messages from individuals past and present who have inspired and influenced the flavor of Philadelphia - including Tina Fey, ?uestlove, and Marcel Duchamp, to name a few. A personalized webpage was created automatically for each participant, with their message, comments, and images of the light sculptures that their voices created.