Art on the Underground has announced ‘Acts of Kindness’ – a new art project for stations and trains on the Central line created by Michael Landy, one of the UK’s leading artists, in collaboration with London Underground passengers and staff.
This project celebrates the ordinary acts of generosity and compassion that take place every day on the Tube.
From 18 June, Acts of Kindness invites users of the Underground, as well as Central line staff, to share stories of kindness that they have witnessed or been part of while travelling by Tube or on duty.
Passengers should look out for posters across the Tube network or go to the website to submit their stories.
Landy will select from these stories and place them as poster artworks in stations and trains along the Central line, adding more to look out for over time.
The first Acts of Kindness stories will be debuted at four Central Line stations from the weekend of 23 July.
In the future, trains travelling on the line will also carry the stories.
Michael Landy is interested in small, fleeting exchanges of kindness as much as heroic acts.
Commenting on the project, he said: “Sometimes we tend to assume that you have to be superhuman to be kind, rather than just an ordinary person.”
Landy first began thinking about the idea behind Acts of Kindness in 2001 immediately after making his work Break Down.
For Break Down he destroyed all his possessions, from his birth certificate to his car.
The experience of being left with nothing helped him reflect on what we are aside from what we own, and on the value of feeling part of a common humanity.
“One of the questions that motivated Break Down”, he said, “was what makes us human, more than just being consumers. I guess I wanted to take that a step further.
“I was looking for the right situation to explore what value kindness has, what it means, and what kind of exchange is involved in giving someone a helping hand.”
He found the situation he was looking for in London Underground when he witnessed two strangers, one trying to help the other.
“I’m interested in what sort of exchange happens between strangers in an act of kindness.
“It’s a gesture of trust between two people. There’s a risk in that. They may just ignore you or take it the wrong way.
“I’m fascinated by when you see people prepared to give up something for somebody they don’t know. It’s a remarkable moment.”
Tamsin Dillon, Head of Art on the Underground, said: “I’m sure Michael Landy’s Acts of Kindness will provoke a range of very interesting responses and I’m looking forward to seeing new stories of kindness appearing on the Central line.
“This project is Michael’s response to our invitation to make a new artwork for the Underground and his intelligent approach has lead to a project with exciting potential in this challenging context.”
Posters designed by the artist, inviting users of London Underground to share their stories, will go live on the Tube network from the weekend of 18 June.
I was in London with my wife in 2009 and we did experience acts of kindness in the Tube. Not only in the Tube but on board the Red bus, Black taxi, and the ferry. In fact I wrote an article about it these experiences in Philippine Manila Standard Today. I have been trying to get this article forwarded to the project website, after reading this project in London Evening Standard 2 Sept. 2011,   Dr. Emiliano T. Hudtohan [email protected]