Silence Was Golden

Silence Was Golden

express

Express yourself with golden balloons.

global

The first truly global art project.

open

Open and free for everyone.

104 Countries

320 Cities

408 performances

Map
SWG (2021 06) Placeholder
SWG (2021 06)

The project

Australia, Sydney - Drift

About

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.

The meaning

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

Who is behind it?

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

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.

 

Have a little fun with us

Take part for free. We provide the material.

Pick any English word or short sentence.

All 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, 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
  • 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
2014
  • Workshop: DEAR Burma school, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Workshop: Gwangju Culture & Art Center (광주문화예술회관), South Korea
  •  

    2015
  • Presentation: TEDx ItaewonSalon, Seoul, South Korea
  • Workshop: Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
  • Workshop: Mana Contemporary, New Jersey, USA
  • Workshop: Sacramento Republic Football Club, Sacramento
  • Workshop & Screening: Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
  •  

    2016
  • Presentation: California State University, Long Beach
  • Workshop: Baganuur District School, Baganuur, Mongolia
  • Workshop: Ban Sang Paen School, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
  • Workshop: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
  • Workshop: Cambodian Children’s Fund, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Workshop: Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, USA – Public Art Live
  • Workshop: Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium, Bonn, Germany
  • Workshop: Local Democracy Agency, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Workshop: Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India
  • Workshop: SOS Children’s Village, Cartagena, Colombia
  • Workshop: The Summer University of Turku (Turun kesäyliopisto), Turku, Finland
  • Workshop: Untapped Cities Magazine, New York
  • Workshop: Wuxi Taihu Academy, Wuxi, China
  • 2017
  • Presentation & workshop: Public Art Festival: Survival, Athens, Greece
  • Screening: World Humanities Conference (2017) by UNESCO ICPHS (The International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences) & UNESCO MOST (Management of Social Transformations), Liege, France
  • Workshop: California State University, Long Beach
  • Workshop: Culture Open Source Forum 2017, Berlin, Germany
  • Workshop: Liceu Ludgero Lima school, Praia, Cape Verde
  • Workshop: Prachabodi School, Pak Kret, Thailand
  •  

    2018
  • Screening: UNESCO Headquarters in Paris
  • Workshop: Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing, China
  • Workshop: Common Future Fund & Offrejoie, Kfifan, Lebanon
  • Workshop: Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore
  • Workshop: Olmsted Falls High School, Ohio, USA
  • Workshop: Phonsung Youth Center, Vang Vieng, Laos
  • Workshop: United Nations, Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Workshop: Universidad Eclesiástica San Dámaso, Madrid, Spain
  • Workshop: Women and Girls Safe Space (Kadın Sağlığı Danışma Merkezi Projesi), Ankara, Turkey
  •  

    2019
  • Workshop: Museum Of Conflict, Ahmedabad, India
  • Workshop: Pacific University Oregon, Oregon, Usa
  •  

    2020
  • Exhibition: Lichtblick, Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee, Berlin
  • Exhibition: 2020 Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
  • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Stay in touch

    We would love to keep the conversation going.

    Please join us on Pinterest, YouTube or Instagram.

    Want inspiration in your inbox?