Acts of Kindness on your way to work

Next time you’re travelling on the Central Line, look out for ‘Acts of Kindness’; an underground art project created by Michael Landy celebrating everyday generosity and compassion.

Landy is encouraging members of the public to share their ‘Acts of Kindness’ stories, which will then be exhibited around different tube stations on the Central Line later this month.

Here are a few examples of stories submitted on the ‘Acts of Kindness’ web page:

“The other day there was a man sitting quietly reading on the train beside me for about twenty minutes. I didn’t really notice him until he looked up and stretched. Then he turned to me and said, “I’ve just finished this brilliant book. Would you like it?” He gave it to me! It was set in Victorian London. I started it but didn’t enjoy it so much. So I gave it to my mum who liked it.”

“Last Sunday I was at Embankment Station, with no money left on my Oyster Card. As I go to top up, a woman walks up to me and hands me an all day travelcard for Zones 1-4. It was probably the best thing ever.”

Landy said: “Sometimes we tend to assume that you have to be superhuman to be kind, rather than just an ordinary person. So, to unsettle that idea, Acts of Kindness catches those little exchanges that are almost too fleeting and mundane to be noticed or remembered.”

About Michael Landy

Landy is most famous for his artwork, Breakdown, 2001, where he destroyed all of his physical possessions including his car and birth certificate. He wanted to explore the idea of what makes us human outside of being consumers.

When talking about ‘Acts of Kindness’ he said, he wanted to go one step further and “explore what value kindness has, what it means, and what kind of exchange is involved in giving someone a helping hand.”

Click here to read and/ or submit a story