Olafur Eliasson: The collectivity project October 16, 2015–January 31, 2016
Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005–15, white Lego bricks and wood, courtesy of the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. © Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005–15, white Lego bricks and wood, courtesy of the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. © Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005–15, white Lego bricks and wood, courtesy of the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. © Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005–15, white Lego bricks and wood, courtesy of the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. © Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson, The collectivity project, 2005–15, white Lego bricks and wood, courtesy of the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. © Olafur Eliasson
A view of The collectivity project as visitors participated in its creation at the MFAH Mixed Media Block Party on Friday, October 16, 2015.
Photograph by Cameron Bertuzzi.
Museum visitors participate in The collectivity project at the MFAH Mixed Media Block Party on Friday, October 16, 2015.
Photograph by Cameron Bertuzzi.
Museum visitors are invited to participate in The collectivity project, an imaginary cityscape made of more than 580,000 white Lego bricks. Dive right in to help build and rebuild the structures! Over time, a collective creation takes form.
This interactive installation was conceived in 2005 by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson (born 1967). The project has previously been installed in public squares in Tirana, Albania (2005), Oslo, Norway (2006), and Copenhagen, Denmark (2008). Most recently, Olafur Eliasson: The collectivity project was on view at the High Line in New York City (2015). The Houston presentation coincides with the October groundbreaking for the Museum's Fayez S. Sarofim Campus and new Glassell School of Art.
The human-scale work of art encourages visitors to engage in new ways of thinking about Houston’s built environment and social spaces. Before The collectivity project opened at the Museum, students from the Rice University School of Architecture and Texas Southern University collaborated on building the installation's initial structures.