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West Palm Beach DDA has continuously been trying to make good use of public spaces with murals and different art installations but these Musical Swings on Clematis Street are really a glorious idea. The traditional swings we all know, have been transformed into an innovative idea – swings that act as a musical instrument and play prerecorded sounds from a piano, harp, guitar or vibraphone.
From February 4th through March 6, Downtown West Palm Beach features a set of Musical Swings on Clematis Street. This public art installation called “The Swings: An Exercise in Musical Cooperation”, was created by the award-winning French Canadian design group Daily tous les jours whose members are redefining the classic swing set with a spectacular piece of art installation that encourages people to work together.
The interactive installation consists of a series of musical swings. When used all together, the swings compose a musical piece in which certain melodies emerge only through cooperation. It’s a game where you need to adjust to the actions of others from the start.
Since 2011, the original 21 Swings installation has attracted millions of fans to the Quartier des spectacles area in Montréal, where every day each swing has swung an average of 8,500 times. Now, the Musical Swings on Clematis Street are the first stop in Knight Foundation’s communities in the US. Knight Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting “transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engaging communities and fostering the arts. Besides being a great entertainment to all, they are a way to prove how the positive interactions made by The Swings can help communities, neighborhoods and local businesses.
In West Palm Beach, this type of public art installation will specially help envision how to act towards unused public spaces in the future. It is a new activity in West Palm Beach and a project that brings people together with a stronger sense of community.
Mayor Jeri Muoio said of the installation: “the more you swing, the more noise it makes, but the more music it makes and if you swing together with your neighbor, it creates melodious harmony”.
If you walk around downtown West Palm Beach, you will find plenty of underutilized spaces. The Musical Swings on Clematis Street help filling that void and make a surprising way for locals to interact with each other, creating spontaneous conversations, even making new friends.
The Musical Swings project blends creativity with community engagement,” said George Abbott, project lead for the Knight Cities Challenge. “It will encourage West Palm Beach residents of all kinds to connect and make their community a more vibrant place to live, work and play.”
Photos of the Musical Swings on Clematis Street
More photos are added every day. Photos © VisitWPB
The Musical Swings operate at 534 Clematis St. The hours of operation are Monday–Friday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Experience this project using #MusicalSwings and #MusicalSwingsWPB
Yes, you can see everyone is really having so much fun with the #MusicalSwings in @DowntownWPB pic.twitter.com/3n7XvIatq5
— Visit West Palm Bch. (@visitwpb) February 6, 2016