'Oscillation' installation at Kravis invites you to play, interact with others

Palm Beach Daily News Staff
·2 min read
The "Oscillation" installation by The Urban Conga. The installation can be seen on the Family Plaza at the Kravis Center from Tuesday through Dec. 26.
The "Oscillation" installation by The Urban Conga. The installation can be seen on the Family Plaza at the Kravis Center from Tuesday through Dec. 26.

Chances are you haven’t had a good playtime in your life of late.

The Brooklyn-based design studio The Urban Conga wants to change that, and starting Tuesday, its interactive installation “Oscillation” will be on display on the Family Plaza at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.

The display will be on view from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily through Dec. 26.

“We are thrilled that ‘Oscillation’ is arriving just in time for the holiday season. This wonderful installation truly captures the spirit of the Kravis Center as the place for inclusive, creative and stimulating experiences,” said Georgiana Young, the center’s vice president of marketing and programming.

“Oscillation” is an interactive touring installation that uses sight, sound, and movement to spark spontaneous community activity and social interaction through open-ended play. The installation reacts similarly to a theremin, a musical instrument that you can play with movement without touching.

Moving close to the "Oscillation" installation brings it to life, playing different pitches and sounds depending on the viewer's proximity.
Moving close to the "Oscillation" installation brings it to life, playing different pitches and sounds depending on the viewer's proximity.

“It doesn’t take any skill to play the pieces, just some subtle movements. As you walk toward the pieces, they play different sounds and pitches depending on your distance from them,” said Ryan Swanson of The Urban Conga. “When you move and dance around them, they also reflect and refract light in different ways revealing different colors and filtered reflections based on the angle it is viewed."

Swanson said the installation was designed to look different at night than it does during the day. The idea of “Oscillation” is that its interactivity will break down social barriers and fuel conversations between strangers, sparking connections between people.

Ryan Swanson of The Urban Conga, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ryan Swanson of The Urban Conga, a multidisciplinary design studio based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Urban Conga is an award-winning multidisciplinary design studio led by Swanson and Maeghann Coleman. The studio is comprised of a diverse group of creatives focused on sparking community interaction and social activity through open-ended play. Their work explores the idea of working with clients to create “more playable cities” by creating an ecosystem of inclusive playable opportunities.

The installation is free of charge and open to the public.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Kravis art installation invites all of us to take time out for play