One of the interactive hearts that will be on display in September in Washington, D.C. and New York City as part of the Discover Colombia Through Its Heart exhibition waits in a Bogota warehouse to be shipped to the United States. PHOTO: Dennis D. Jacobs
What is the heart of Colombia?
People in the Washington, D.C. and New York City areas will have a chance to explore possible answers to that question this month, when the Discover Colombia Through Its Heart exhibition visits those two cities.
Most likely, they will discover that Colombia beats with many hearts, which is why the exhibit will feature 47 different heart sculptures. Seven of the hearts are 13-feet tall and will offer visitors interactive experiences, such as listening to Colombian music, viewing scenes of Colombia, and learning about Colombia’s most famous residents. One heart even takes the form of an Internet café, where visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the country while enjoying a complimentary cup of Colombia’s world-famous coffee.
“The point of this interactive exhibit is to educate and show the world the true Colombia,” said Maria Claudia Lacouture, general manager of Colombia is Passion, the branding campaign behind the exhibition. “We want to change the way the world thinks of Colombia through this exhibit.”
In New York City, the exhibit will run from Sept. 22-28 with the interactive hearts on display in Grand Central Terminal.
The exhibition opens Saturday in Washington, D.C. The interactive hearts will be on display in the main hall of Union Station through Sept. 15. The other 40 hearts will appear along city streets in high-traffic areas. They will be hard to miss, standing eight feet tall, featuring colorful, hand-painted designs that showcase a particular aspect of Colombia that may surprise visitors.
“When people come here, they always get surprised,” said Ricardo Leyva of the Bogota marketing firm of Sistole, which played a role in designing the exhibit.
For instance, people may be surprised to learn that the country, which is the size of California and Texas combined, ranks second in the world in biodiversity and first on a per-square-mile basis.
Marcelo Arango, vice-president of strategic planning for the Bogota advertising firm of BBDO Sancho, shows how the cubes work on one of the large interactive hearts that will be part of the Discover Colombia Through Its Heart exhibit. PHOTO: Dennis D. Jacobs
“We love to talk about fruit, beaches, and biodiversity,” explained Marcelo Arango, vice-president of strategic planning for the Bogota advertising firm of BBDO Sancho, which developed the Colombia is Passion campaign. “All the tropical countries have papaya and pineapple and all those things. Our country has many more surprising things.”
Another fact that Colombians believe may surprise Americans is that the country has one of the world’s highest literacy rates (94.2 percent).
Using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, Colombian marketing professionals sought input from foreigners who had visited Colombia on what surprised them. The result is an interactive heart that resembles a large Lego structure, with comments from 172 foreigners who were eager to help spread the good news about Colombia.
“No one asked for a dime,” Arango noted. “It was all done for free.”
Musical groups and educational programs also will be part of the exhibition, all free to the public.
“We’re going to have Colombians there chatting with people,” added Arango. “We like to talk.”
And show the heart of their country.
Comments
Will the exhibit be in any other US cities this year or next?
I believe that's something under consideration, perhaps depending on how well received the exhibition is in NYC and DC. I don't think it will be this year, though. Maybe next.
Interesting idea - I'll be on the lookout for those hearts in Washington.
Why those exhibitions are always in places such as NYC or Washington DC. What if the exhibition could make it all over the States, or cities where there are a deep population of Colombian immigrants such as Boston or Atlanta or little bit far Seattle or San Francisco. My 10 cents
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