Brief: You've got to be cruel to be kind

One of the two briefs chosen was 'You've got to be cruel to be kind':

"Civilised life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us." J.G Ballard 

The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was a massive widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003 at approximately 4.15pm. At the time it was the most widespread electrical blackout in history. The blackout affected an estimated 10 million people in Ontario and 45 million in the United states.

While practically all businesses and retail establishments closed down, many bars and clubs reported a brisk business as many New Yorkers took the opportunity to spend all evening 'enjoying' the blackout. Since the most perishable items were going to spoil anyway, many restaurants and citizens simply prepared what they could and served it to anyone who wanted it, leading to vast block parties in many neighbourhoods.    

Can negative influences create positive social cohesion and opportunity? The project is design an intervention that promotes a positive change via negativity.