Golden Shoes Project, Puerto Rico
The murder rate in Puerto Rico was 5x higher than that of any city in the United States in 2011. The first and most ambitious project to date consisted of 1,136 pairs of shoes. GSP Puerto Rico showed in Las Fiestas de San Se, the biggest festival held on the island with over 150,000 attendees. The project spread like wildfire: 10+ schools produced their own painting workshops, 15+ businesses joined by becoming shoe drop off locations and numerous media outlets featured the project. Shoes were painted by both victims of violence and perpetrators, as well as citizens that had not been directly affected. Viewers flocked to the installation in admiration and were deeply moved once they understood the mission behind the project. 

installation experience

The installation was created with several empty spaces to invite people to 'step into the art'. By becoming part of the art, we hoped the viewer could have an understanding that anyone could find themselves in that position. 
We encouraged people to take photographs with the intention of using social media as a form to communicate our message under the hashtag #goldenshoesproject. 

sacred Shoes

 
This installation had 11 pairs of sacred shoes including the last pair worn by a young man before he was killed 18 years ago. 
​It also included the shoes of Stefano Steenbakers, a conscientious young man who's organs were donated to save the lives of five people after his untimely death. His highly publicized death encouraged his mother to establish Team Stefano, an organization dedicated to increase organ donation in Puerto Rico. 

joss paper

Joss paper is traditionally burned in Asian funerals to ensure good fortune in the afterlife. With over 1,000 murders that year, we found it important to create an emotional outlet for those overwhelmed by viewing the magnitude of loss. ​Viewers were invited to write their thoughts, hopes and prayers on joss paper (Chinese gold paper) and place their message in a pair of shoes.