PHOTO VIA @ORLMINIFIGEXCHANGE
A Portland, Oregon, mom who started a backyard dinosaur display in 2022 has turned her neighborhood project into something even bigger: Worldwide Sidewalk Joy, a global map of free, public installations/interventions that have been designed to bring a little unexpected delight to the people walking by.
Sidewalk Joy spots are free public installations that include little art galleries, puzzle exchanges, toy swaps, wishing trees, year-round yard displays, and more, all placed in publicly accessible curb gardens, front yards, or on the sides of buildings.
Rachael Harms Mahlandt (Instagram), the creator behind the project, started by mapping similar spots around Portland and found that the act of connecting them transformed her neighborhood community. She then had the idea to scale it worldwide, and the map now includes installations across the country and beyond.
If you already have something like this in your front yard or neighborhood, like a Little Free Library, a toy swap, a small art display, you can submit it to be added HERE. If you want to start one, the site has tips on building and installation, guidance on checking local regulations, and plenty of inspiration from spots already on the map.
The full map is at worldwidesidewalkjoy.com. Check out the spots in Central Florida where they already have some installations registered, like Orlando Mini Fig Exchange (Instagram), pictured above.
