The Happiness Project Part 1: Under Construction

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Bureau for Investigation of Strategies for Happiness, Community and Policy Development
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When November 1- December  27, 2011
Where:  1130 West Thorndale,  (Edgewater), Chicago
What: pop up space / former Alderman’s election office transformed into the ‘Bureau for Investigation of Strategies for Happiness, Community and Policy Development’.
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Project:
‘Under Construction’ is part of the Happiness project, a larger art project curated by Tricia Van Eck: “What does happiness look like for you, others, and Chicago? The Happiness Project aims to articulate the potential of how the right to pursue happiness, if applied to work, life, and governmental decisions, could transform the city and the well being of its inhabitants.”
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Under Construction looks at questions such as “what is happiness” and “what is a perfect society”? These very broad questions will be dealt with not only from its ideological viewpoint, but also by asking how, within such general themes and world views, ideas can be transformed from a collective into a more personal story. Or how an ideology can be transformed into actual policy?  And who is responsible for ‘happiness’? Under Construction focused on the Edgewater Community where the project space was located.
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About the space:
The ‘Bureau for Investigation of Strategies for Happiness, Community and Policy Development’ was used as an office to conduct interviews with people from the neighborhood, city workers and local policy makers ranging from from the Alderman to state representatives to environmentalists, police commanders, elderly community members, regular residents, high school students. etc. The project space was open for the public during office hours for walk ins, or I would work by appointment. I repurposed the banners, streamers, desks and file cabinets left behind into a campaign headquarters for happiness.
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Follow up:
Based on these interviews  a script will be derived for a video -shot at the auditorium of the local high school – in which all of the interviewed people will play a part as constituents of the imaginary community – : ‘Everywhen’. The main thread is that ‘happiness’ is a constant work in progress and the work will question how one’s own happiness can exist next to or is part of a larger idea of ‘happiness’. And will question who is responsible.
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Reviews:
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The Happiness Project Part 2: Visiting Artist at Senn High School

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Images:
Bureau for Investigation of Strategies for Happiness, Community and Policy Development
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