Bubbleware: Social Furniture

April 14-May 6 | Various locations

Art City Austin will also launch the installation of Bubbleware, a modular, inflatable public furniture system that invites visitors to develop new arrangements for informal social interaction, creativity and collaboration within the relatively rigid structures that make up the city. Bubbleware provides visual and tactile contrast to standard urban hardscape. The soft, colorful and inviting pieces summon possibilities that are seldom associated with public space: lounging and relaxing. Bubbleware modules can be reconfigured and adapted to support assorted formats for social encounters and informal collaborations, from small lounge spaces to aggregates that support large group gatherings. Both playful and critical, Bubbleware encourages the observer to consider the roles of form and material in the construction of our experience in the city, inviting onlookers to explore what happens when hardscapes are subverted.

Bubbleware will kick off during Art City Austin on April 14^th. Moving to multiple sites through its duration, the installation will activate Frost Plaza on Congress Avenue April 26-28 in partnership with the Downtown Austin Alliance. Finally, Bubbleware will be transported by parade to the Hub April 28^th and will remain there until the project ends on May 6^th.

About Rebar

Rebar is an art and design studio based in San Francisco. Perhaps best known as the inventors of PARK(ing) Day, Rebar explores the dynamics of public space through exhibitions and participatory events around the globe. Rebar is directed by Matthew Passmore, Blaine Merker, and John Bela. Bubbleware debuted at the 2011 Laneways Art Festival in Sydney Australia. Art City Austin marks the installations first visit to Texas.