The Light of Human Kindness

Everyone has a dark story, Everyone holds a light, Everyone needs kindness...

The Light of Human Kindness was an interactive mural in Richmond, Virginia that explored the relationship of light and darkness and what can happen when art, technology and kindness come together to illuminate the power of human connection.

The project began with our simple human stories. We asked folks to share a story of a dark time and what one act of kindness made the difference.  The stories were collected and written on the wall at a community event. Richmond artist Hamilton Glass then painted a mural over the very stories that held our shared humanity and goodness.

The 1,000 (LED light bulbs) were then installed directly on the 125 foot wall on Cary Street which lit up one-by-one in real time as people from Richmond and around the world completed acts of kindness inspired by the mural art or their own experience of needing light during a dark time.

The mural invited folks to experience the power of human connection by interacting with the wall itself using conductive properties and other cutting edge technology. The collective energy of one hand touching the wall while linked with a physical human connection to others powered the lights and illuminated the dark with colorful patterns and animations. The idea being that we can not do it alone, but in our togetherness, we can bring light to the dark.

The mural was part of the RVA Street Art Festival in 2013 and was on exhibit until January 2014. The wall was painted over in the fall of 2016 but the spirit of LOHK will forever live on in RVA and in those who became part of the wall. It was a mural that became a movement.

 We are so grateful to our sponsors, Susanne Shilling, HopefulWorld.org and The Martin Agency for helping us bring the wall to life and kindness to our city .