The birth of Hydrants

I’m a wanderer. This insatiable hunger to explore propels me on long walks, bike rides up and down the city, a jump onto a bus only to hop off when a stop that look intriguing, a drive to a random blob of green on google maps. Whatever the mode, I love how cities lend themselves to being able to experience an alternate subculture or urban universe on any given day. Being a city dweller is fascinating and stimulating, but there’s also so much dystopian inequity and unsustainability I come across that it can sometimes feel overwhelming and hopeless in these infinitely sprawling urban environments.

About a year ago, however, on a walk through mid-city, Los Angeles, I stumbled upon the most beautiful fire hydrant I’d ever seen. I hadn’t ever really noticed fire hydrants that much before. But this one felt magical. A slightly faded yellow being that glowed in the shaft of evening light filtering its way through the buildings. I was captivated.

As the next few days went by, I found my attention being constantly diverted towards the fire hydrants I’d pass by. It was as if the aperture of my focus had narrowed down and latched onto this layer of society that would’ve otherwise gone unnoticed. From the physical shape of the hydrant, to the blemishes and discolorations, the collages of stickers or the graffiti tattoos and splattered paint; each sighting brought something new. Now, every time I’d wander, I’d have a new metaphorical lens for the journey. It’s as if hydrants helped me wake up to an invisible undercurrent of beauty anywhere I’d go.

I believe hydrants have the power to become something more.

As I’ve fallen deeper into the world of fire hydrants, I’ve latched onto to the discovered premise that hydrants are not alone. Although each of these beings has a distinct identity, they’re tied together by an invisible network of pipes and underground infrastructure.

My quest is to begin connecting people who want to help build a world that is more just. I believe that through more conscious communities focused on solving the grand problems of our generation, we can find more individual and shared purpose and build a connective cultural tissue.

For too long, the innovation and “progress” in our society feels dominated by a pervasive sense of capitalism and profit-making incentives. It’s become harder and harder to find authentic social initiatives and people who are committed to something larger than themselves. Creating tools, technology, art for humans sake. Instead of just tech for tech’s sake. It sometimes feels alienating being in these echo chamber of a new status quo.  

But right now, as a new internet emerges, the time feels right for individual hydrants to come out of the shadows and begin promoting a new culture of collaboration and striving for utopia.
A culture of hydrants that are interested in the journey towards dismantling our systems of order and power. Hydrants who actually care about social impact. Who want to subvert technology and its current status quo to create for a better world. Who are ready to fight the metaphorical fires consuming our world. A culture that shows there are more of us out there and that we are not alone.

This is an open call for artists, social entrepreneurs, activists, utopian idealists, tactical urbanists, guerrilla change makers, or anyone who aligns with this vision.

The manifesto: We’re a movement of hydrants, tied together by the underground, uniting to form a more just world.

My hope is that by leaving this manifesto as open ended as possible, anyone can find a way to identify with it and interpret it in ways that one human mind could never have imagined. Continue channeling individuality and personal passion. Find meaning in this decentralized vision and ask yourself how our world should evolve and what needs to change. Hydrants are plainly a symbol of our shared intention. A symbol that ties us all together through a culture of more conscious creation. So go forth and change the world.
 
- @hydr_ant