"Cai Guo-Qiang: Fireflies" in Philadelphia

"Cai Guo-Qiang: Fireflies" (2017) by artist Cai Guo-Qiang
Philadelphia, PA | associationforpublicart.org/fireflies
Video by Greenhouse Media for the Association for Public Art (aPA)
Thousands delighted in the magic and whimsy of "Fireflies," an interactive public artwork commissioned by the Association for Public Art (aPA) with Fung Collaboratives on the occasion of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway's centennial, with major support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
"Fireflies" consisted of 900 illuminated lanterns in a bevy of colors and shapes, held aloft by a fleet of 27 pedicabs. Approximately 2,800 people gathered for the World Premiere opening celebration and performance, and some 5,500 more people took free moon-lit rides along the Parkway in one of Cai Guo-Qiang's customized pedicab vehicles. The project transformed the Parkway at night, and gave participants and spectators a unique, once-in-a-lifetime way to experience the city’s grand boulevard.