Why are red swings lining the streets of downtown Fayetteville?

Ariana-Jasmine Castrellon, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read

The red two-seater swings shaped like small houses in Downtown Fayetteville that visitors may have noticed are part of a world-tour art exhibit.

The Cool Spring Downtown District and the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, brought a public-interactive art exhibit, called Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0, to downtown Fayetteville.

Tre Webb takes a sip of coffee while swinging on the public-interactive art exhibit, called Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0, on Hay Street, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. The art exhibit is made up of eight art pieces, which are located on Hay and Person streets, showcases red swings shaped as small houses. When the houses are empty, the glow softly white, but when a visitor steps inside, the white glow intensifies.

The art exhibit, which is made up of eight art pieces, is located on the 200 and 300 blocks of 300 Hay Street, and on Person Street. When the houses are empty, they glow softly white, but when a visitor steps inside, the white glow intensifies.

The grand opening of the exhibit was Nov. 21, and it will be up through Jan. 9.

The art exhibit has been taken around the world by Creos, a family-owned company based in Quebec, Canada. The company has organized 50 exhibits in 26 cities across four continents, according to its website.

The creators of Mi Casa, Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0 — Hector Esrawe, and Ignacio Cadena, were inspired by Latin American street markets, “where human connections are made every day,” according to a Cool Spring Downtown District news release.

Creos describes the installation as “a series of eight, three-dimensional, red frames that illustrate the warmth, comfort, and safety of our homes," according to the release.

Cool Spring Downtown District’s President and CEO Bianca Shoneman said the Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0 art exhibit “really spoke” to the nonprofit.

Over the last two years, the Cool Spring Downtown District has brought 14 additional permanent and temporary art exhibits to downtown Fayetteville, Shoneman said.

For example, earlier in the pandemic, the Cool Spring Downtown District brought Prismatica, which was another Creos exhibit, to downtown Fayetteville.

The Cool Spring Downtown District and the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, brought a public-interactive art exhibit, called Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0, to downtown Fayetteville. The art exhibit is made up of eight art pieces, which are located on Hay and Person streets, showcases red swings shaped as small houses. When the houses are empty, the glow softly white, but when a visitor steps inside, the white glow intensifies.

"What we heard and saw shared across social media was overwhelmingly positive in terms of the joy people felt in interacting with Prismatica’s colorful pieces during an otherwise dark time,” Shoneman said in the press release.

She said she hopes the art exhibit encourages the community of Fayetteville to pull together.

“We want folks to be reminded that Fayetteville is a beautiful community to live and work and eat and shop and invest,” Shoneman said. “It still reminds people that we are a hospitable welcoming community and in all essence, my house is your house.”

Education and families reporter Ariana-Jasmine Castrellon can be reached at acastrellon@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County brings new art exhibit