BLOSSOMInteractive Bridges Online and Offline Communities
Philadelphia–According to the Coalition Against Hunger, 1 in 4 Philadelphians are at risk for hunger. A team of University of Pennsylvania School of Design (PennDesign) and School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) graduate students have built an interactive sculpture that responds to social media posts to raise awareness about hunger issues in the city. Under the auspices of PennPraxis, the social outreach arm of the School, the team will install the sculpture—designed in the form of a six-foot tall flower blossom—at Locust Walk and 37th Street from September 16 - 30. There will be a kick-off event on Friday, September 16 at 6:00pm.
The design was inspired by the fact that a flower has to blossom before a plant can bear fruit. The internet-connected sculpture will open when photos of the blossom are posted and tagged #FeedBlossom to Twitter or Instagram. Participants will then receive information about local events addressing food security and hunger in the form of a social media response from one of four Philadelphia nonprofit partners: Broad Street Ministry, Philabundance, Coalition Against Hunger, and The Food Trust.
The BLOSSOMInteractive team consists of Master of Integrated Product Design students Phillip Chang and Jono Sanders, and Sarai Williams, a candidate for the Master of City Planning and Master of Landscape Architecture. PennPraxis managing director Julie Donofrio advised the team. BLOSSOMInteractive was supported by Penn Facilities & Real Estate Services.