Human Flower Project
2 Good 2 Be Private
A performance artist in the Netherlands wants to keep the bloom on the dreaded red-and-white holiday, fast approaching, by going public and global.
Federico Hewson
Cupid for 2009
Photo: Courtesy of Valentine Peace Project
Who’s got a date for Valentine’s Day?
You do. Federico Hewson is inviting you out, along with the rest of the world. His idea is to horn in on the couples-only approach to this holiday by spreading the “love magic.”
A performance artist based in the Netherlands, Hewson staged the first Valentine Peace Project in 2006, his international dating game that delivers poems and flowers all across the world, mainly to strangers, it appears. Look at his gallery of photos and you’ll get the idea.
There are children passing out flowers in nursing homes, women pushing grocery carts in the Bronx as they clutch fresh carnations, fellows cycling across public squares in Amsterdam, their backpacks full of flowers ….
Children of the Peace Initiative, Wales
Photo: Valentine Peace Project
“Sometimes it feels like love has been co-opted by commercial interests, by religion’s heavy hand, by Hallmark and Hollywood,” Federico writes. “The Valentine Peace Project invites citizens of the world to peer into their heart. To take an opportunity around this known worldwide holiday about romantic love to ponder the other faces and in fact the greater potential of love. “
Thus far Federico’s “dates” are concentrated in Antwerp, Amsterdam, The Hague, Berlin, Milan, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Los Angeles – in each of these cities, there are chapters of the Valentine Peace Project. But wherever you live, you can jump right in.
Jolly citizens of the Bronx, NY, with their floral Valentines, 2/14/08
Photo: Valentine Peace Project
“Please use my alternative valentine project as the opportunity it has been built to be,” he asks. “ Write a poem, share one you like, investigate the diversity of peace education – share a flower from your own garden – or purchase some for others who would never think to treat themselves.”
Becky with students from Vine Elementary School, Los Angeles
Photo: Valentine Peace Project
If you’d like to coordinate a wider Valentine Peace Project in your neighborhood, town or city but feel a little shy about beginning, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for a big conceptual embrace + ideas about how to create a spark.
Thank you, Federico, for keeping after us on this. We look forward to hearing how the love fest grows February 14, 2009.
A brilliant idea. Valentine’s Day can be a bit isolating if one is not coupled. Flowers are for everyone!