Acclaimed British artist Stuart Semple will debut his first American public art installation in Denver this summer, with the aim of making the Mile High City a measurably friendlier, more connected and less anxious place.
Known as Happy City, the exhibition will lean on a citywide network of partners to realize Semple’s dream of creating highly visible and, in one case, permanent changes in some of Denver’s most prominent public spaces, including Union Station, the Denver Theatre District and the Denver Zoo.
“It’s very much a work in progress because we’ve still got about six months to go,” Semple said Tuesday over the phone from his home in Dorset, England. “Really, what I’m hoping to do is collaborate with the city rather than being an artist who wades in and kind of splashes their work about.”
Semple is internationally known for his playful, conceptual art projects in Australia, Russia and Europe, as well as solo and group shows that seek to create a sense of whimsy while questioning the boundaries of public and private life.
In fact, it was 2009’s Happy Clouds — in which Semple released more than 2,000 pink, smiley-faced clouds from the Tate Modern over London’s financial district — that inspired the name of the Denver project. (Don’t worry: The clouds were made from eco-friendly helium and soap that “vanished after about 30 minutes,” according to the London Telegraph.)
“It’s our most ambitious effort by far,” said David Ehrlich, executive director of the 11-year-old Denver Theatre District, which initiated Happy City with Denver-based partner and curator Nine Dot Arts. “When you combine our contributions with our partners, it’s in excess of $500,000.”
Besides being Semple’s first major non-gallery work in the U.S., the Denver Theatre District’s revenue structure also makes Happy City unique.
From 2017 to 2019, the district increased its art funding with a budget of more than $800,000 that has featured 2017’s Terra Firma series (including Konstantin Dimopoulos’ Blue Trees) and others, with all revenue coming from outdoor advertising on LED screens throughout the district, centered around the Denver Performing Arts Complex and Colorado Convention Center on 14th Street.
Happy City partners Denver Arts & Venues, Visit Denver, RTD, the Downtown Denver Parternship, Sage Hospitality, Black Cube, McWhinney and the Community First Foundation will provide funding and organizational support, while Ehrlich works to measure both the economic and psychological impact of this free, outdoor art experiment.
“There’s now a lot of academic research on components of happiness as it relates to reduction of social anxiety,” Ehrlich said. “We’ll be working with the Community First Foundation on hard metrics and surveys for that, as well as talking to people. Did it actually reduce anxiety? There’s research that shows it does.”
One component of the project is Happy Station, which will remake the “dark and drab” RTD light rail station at the Colorado Convention Center into a playful, colorful and creative space, Semple said.
“It’s one of the big, technical pieces because it’s a complete redesign of the station,” he said. “There’s a lot of sculptural work and graphic elements, a light installation and a new doorway, so that’s my big focus at the moment. It’s almost like an architecture project.”
Unlike most architecture projects, there will be a nearby Coloring Cafe where people can draw pictures with custom colors, designed by Semple, that will then be displayed in the station.
Other pieces of Happy City include an Emotional Baggage Drop at Union Station, where travelers can deposit their cares after disembarking from trains. For two weekends in May, JUMP (“Bring Us Together”) will offer a free, interactive installation at Union Station Plaza with a giant, inflatable dance floor and what’s billed as “the world’s largest disco ball.”
“The idea is really to create a series of art experiences across the whole city that increase happiness and make it more inviting,” Semple said. “And we know that by changing your physicality and psychological state we can stimulate happiness, so (JUMP) is a very active, movement-type piece.”
Other components at the Denver Zoo and in a pair of underserved Denver neighborhoods are still in the planning stages, Semple said.
Happy City will debut May 19 and run through June 10, with some installations remaining in place beyond those dates. Happy Clouds, for example, will make regular appearances as Semple “floods the Denver skyline with thousands of huge artificial clouds,” according to Fad Magazine. “At night, Love Beacon, a dazzling outpouring of heart-shaped clouds, will be illuminated with all the colours of the rainbow, making them visible for miles.”
The project is only possible because the city’s machinery and its people are so willing to explore it, said Semple, who first visited Denver in 2016 for a lecture at the Denver Art Museum and quickly made dozens of friends.
“What I’ve found here is a lot of give and take on a really big scale,” said Semple, who was “blown away” by Denver on his first visit. “Denver is one of the most exciting, amazing places I’ve visited because people have this beautiful energy and are willing to try things. I can’t imagine doing this anywhere else.”
