Silence Was Golden

Silence Was Golden

Silence Was Golden

Express yourself with golden balloons

The first truly global art project

Open & free for everyone

SWG (2021 06) Placeholder
SWG (2021 06)

412 performances

105 Countries

324 Cities

The project
Australia-Sydney-Drift-silence-was-golden-gold-balloons

What

Silence Was Golden is an on-going global performance series. Across the world, performers choose a word or a short phrase that expresses something important or meaningful to them and then spell it out of golden letter balloons in relevant locations.

So far thousands of people have taken part, creating a global tapestry of self-expression. The project is open and free to participate.

Why

This site-specific and participatory project gives individuals and communities the opportunity to express themselves on multiple platforms and to collaborate with others. The ultimate goal is to inspire people of all backgrounds to communicate through art and connect with one another through their unique expressions. The project subtly touches on pressing issues such as freedom of thought, freedom of expression, equal rights and more.

All balloons are re-used and recycled.

Thailand-Chiang-Mai-Privacy-silence was golden, gold balloons

Who

The entire project is financed by Public Delivery without any outside institutional or corporate sponsorship. This is a deliberate decision: Any external financial support has the potential to take away from the overall message. Silence Was Golden unfolds at a grassroots level and in equal partnership with performers around the world.

The project is curated by Martin Schulze and presented by Public Delivery.

Russia-Sochi-Utopia-silence was golden, gold balloons

Background

Silence Was Golden is inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, turning everyday objects into art. It also drew upon Erwin Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures, which were very short and often funny-looking performances. Lastly, the core of the project was inspired by graffiti, using both bold letters and an audacious approach towards public space, frequently working without permission.

Take part for free

Pick any English word or short sentence.

We provide the balloons.

Locations
Africa

Cameroon Limbe
Cape Verde Praia
Egypt Marsa Alam, Matruh, Taba
Ivory Coast Abidjan
Morocco Agadir, Erg Chebbi, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Rabat
Senegal Dakar
South Africa Lothair (Mpumalanga), Mooi River
Tunisia Sousse

Asia

Afghanistan Kabul
Bahrain Manama
Brunei Limau Manis
Cambodia Phnom Penh
China Bayingolin, Beijing, Bijie, Binzhou, Chengdu, Dunhuang, Guilin, Hangzhou, Hezuo, Hong Kong, Jiayuguan, Kunming, Longsheng, Menghai, Sanya, Shanghai, Tianshui, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xiahe, Xiamen, Xishuangbanna, Xuchang, Yanoda Rainforest, Yinchuan, Zhangjiakou, Zhangye, Zhuzhou
India Ahmedabad, Bodhgaya, Kochi
Indonesia Bali, Batam
Iran Tehran
Israel Kirjat Schmona, Tel Aviv
Japan Fukuoka, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Naoshima, Okayama, Osaka, Tokyo, Yokohama
Jordan Amman, Petra
Kazakhstan Almaty, Astana
Kuwait Kuwait City, Shuwaikh
Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Töö Ashuu, Tosor
Laos Vang Vieng, Vientiane
Lebanon Kfifan
Malaysia Miri, Pulau Rawa
Mongolia Baganuur
Myanmar Yangon
Oman Maskat
Pakistan Islamabad
Qatar Singing Sand Dunes
Singapore
South Korea Gangneung, Gwangju, Incheon, Jeongdongjin, Seoraksan, Seoul, Sokcho
Sri Lanka Colombo
State of Palestine Jerusalem
Taiwan Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan
Tajikistan Sarigon
Thailand Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Phanom, Nonthaburi
Turkey Afyonkarahisar, Ankara, Çanakkale, Edirne, Gaziantep, Tekirdağ
Turkmenistan Yerbent
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ra’s al-Chaima
Uzbekistan Buxoro, Samarkand, Xiva
Vietnam Hanoi, Hội An, Nha Trang, Vịnh Hạ Long

Europe

Albania Kukës, Tirana
Armenia Yerevan
Austria Graz, Salzburg, Vienna
Belarus Grodno, Minsk, Novopolotsk
Belgium Hallerbos, Verviers
Bosnia & Herzegovina Mostar, Sarajevo
Bulgaria Sofia, Sozopol
Croatia Varaždin, Zagreb
Czech Republic Prague
Denmark Aabenraa, Esbjerg, Ribe
Estonia Pärnu
Finland Turku
France Chalon-sur-Saône, Metz, Montbéliard, Nancy, Paris
Georgia Tbilisi
Germany Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Bottrop, Bremen, Detmold, Dortmund, Duisburg, Dülmen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Freiburg (Kenzingen), Gelsenkirchen, Halle, Haltern am See, Hamm, Heidelberg, Herford, Herten, Hüttenberg, Kamen, Kiel, Köln, Ludwigslust, Mülheim, Münster, Oberhausen, Osnabrück, Tecklenburg, Teutoburg Forest, Wetzlar (Ehringshausen)
Greece Athens, Thessaloniki
Holy See Vatican City
Hungary Budapest
Iceland Godafoss, Jökulsárlón, Mývatn, Skagaströnd
Ireland Dalkey
Italy Alberobello, Lecce, Manfredonia, Milano, Paestum, Procida
Kosovo Pristina
Latvia Jūrmala, Riga
Liechtenstein Vaduz
Lithuania Vilnius
Luxembourg Medingen
Malta Mdina
Moldova Chișinău
Monaco
Montenegro Kotor, Podgorica
Netherlands Ketelhaven, Roermond, Zoutelande
North Macedonia Ohrid, Skopje
Norway Kabelvåg, Skjervøy
Poland Warsaw
Portugal Porto
Romania București, Constanța
Russia Moscow, Sochi
San Marino
Serbia Pančevo
Slovakia Bratislava
Slovenia Maribor
Spain Corralejo, Barcelona, Figueres, Madrid, Majanicho, Portlligat
Sweden Kiruna
Switzerland Grindelwald, Kandersteg, La Chaux-des-Fonds, Murten, Staad, Stoos
Ukraine Kyiv
United Kingdom Edinburgh, London

Oceania

Australia Sydney
Kiribati South Tarawa
Micronesia Chuuk
Nauru Yaren
New Zealand Dunedin, Raglan, Wellington

North America

Belize Corozal
Canada Banff, Edmonton, Toronto
Costa Rica Puerto Jiménez
El Salvador Caserío El Coco
Guatemala Antigua, Tikal
Mexico Chihuahua City, Ciudad Juárez, Tulum
Panama Bocas del Toro, Paraíso, Pedro-Miguel
USA Birmingham, Charlotte, Cleveland, Coloma, Disneyland, El Paso, Forest Grove, Fredericksburg, Gaffney, Galveston, Heeia, Hollywood, Honolulu, Houston, Iraan, Jackson, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Altos, Los Angeles, Miami, Monterey, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Placerville, Portland, Primm, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Tampa, Truth or Consequences, Valentine, Waialua, Washington D.C., Webster

South America

Brazil São Paulo
Colombia Bogotá, Cartagena
Costa Rica Puerto Jiménez
El Salvador Ahuachapán
Guatemala Flores
Panama Bocas del Toro, Port of Balboa
Paraguay Asuncion
Peru Machu Picchu, Tarapoto

Presentations & Workshops
Exhibitions
  • Lichtblick, Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Kunsthochschule Weissensee, Berlin
  • 2020 Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
Presentations
  • TEDx ItaewonSalon, Seoul, South Korea
  • California State University, Long Beach
  • Public Art Festival: Survival, Athens, Greece
Screenings
Workshops: Asia
  • DEAR Burma school, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Gwangju Culture & Art Center (광주문화예술회관), South Korea
  • Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Baganuur District School, Baganuur, Mongolia
  • Ban Sang Paen School, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
  • Cambodian Children’s Fund, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India
  • Prachabodi School, Pak Kret, Thailand
  • Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing, China
  • Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore
  • Phonsung Youth Center, Vang Vieng, Laos
  • United Nations, Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Women and Girls Safe Space (Kadın Sağlığı Danışma Merkezi Projesi), Ankara, Turkey
  • Museum Of Conflict, Ahmedabad, India
  • Wuxi Taihu Academy, Wuxi, China
  • Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
  • Common Future Fund & Offrejoie, Kfifan, Lebanon
Workshops: Other
  • Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium, Bonn, Germany
  • Culture Open Source Forum 2017, Berlin, Germany
  • Local Democracy Agency, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • The Summer University of Turku (Turun kesäyliopisto), Turku, Finland
  • Universidad Eclesiástica San Dámaso, Madrid, Spain
  • Public Art Festival: Survival, Athens, Greece
  • SOS Children’s Village, Cartagena, Colombia
  • Liceu Ludgero Lima school, Praia, Cape Verde
Workshops: USA
  • Mana Contemporary, New Jersey
  • Sacramento Republic Football Club, Sacramento
  • Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, Alabama
  • Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento – Public Art Live
  • Untapped Cities Magazine, New York
  • Olmsted Falls High School, Ohio
  • Pacific University Oregon, Oregon
  • California State University, Long Beach

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