About the project

FLAG was a site-specific interactive installation in downtown Raleigh in response to HB2 (the notorious and ridiculous “bathroom bill”). Just a few blocks south of the State Capitol and Legislative Building, the project was designed to invite play and reflection in a contested urban space — while slyly implicating passersby in a conversation about community, belonging, and civil rights.

The installation contained eight rows of eight lights in the pattern of the original 8-color pride flag designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978. Passive infrared motion sensors triggered the illumination of each color as people on the sidewalk waved the flag for three months through the summer and early fall.

360° mini-doc on FLAG by Arthur Earnest

FLAG insists on a participatory response to local politics (which reflect national issues, of course). When every trigger is activated, the whole image glows. The project is a provocation, asking every person on the street to consider his or her relationship to the flag as a symbol, and to current and ongoing struggles for civil rights and a just society.

During the closing weekend of the installation, in collaboration with Reflex Arc (Ginger Wagg and Crowmeat Bob), we opened the doors and invited people in for a series of improvisational performances to coincide with the Hopscotch Music Festival. Photos and videos from that event are below.