Wildcard Pop-Up at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment

Thirteen paintings. One final image. One room racing against the clock to reveal it.

What happens when participation—not observation—becomes the artwork? Wildcard invites visitors to help unlock 13 hand-painted puzzle pieces through music, prompts, conversation, and collective problem-solving. Contributions are added anonymously to a growing Cultural Archive, and participants can earn Vibe Tokens designed to circulate support toward local artists, small businesses, and vendors. The one-day activation culminates in a shared reveal: complete or incomplete, the final image reflects what the room built together.

 

Wildcard is an evolving participatory art experience created by Birmingham-based artist Carey Fountain and Vibes & Virtues. Instead of asking visitors to stand back and observe, Wildcard turns the room into the artwork.

Across the activation, visitors encounter 13 hand-painted puzzle pieces connected to social and cultural themes. Music, visual art, anonymous prompts, and conversation move the experience forward. As the room responds and collaborates, each completed theme unlocks another piece. If all 13 are unlocked before time expires, the full image and its final message are revealed. If not, the unfinished work becomes an honest record of what the community was able to build together.

The responses generated during the experience are preserved anonymously in Wildcard’s Cultural Archive—a growing record of how communities think, feel, and problem-solve together. Participants can also earn Vibe Tokens through meaningful engagement. The tokens are part of a developing local exchange system intended to direct attention and spending toward participating artists, small businesses, and vendors.

The Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment pop-up will also include a live performance of “Fright to Vote,” a piece exploring fear, civic participation, and democratic engagement. The artist will build the beat live, perform the song, and connect its evolution from music to painting to its current interactive interpretation.

Free and open to the public. Come ready to listen, respond, collaborate, and help reveal what the room can create.

 

About the artist:

Carey Fountain is a Birmingham-based artist and founder of Vibes & Virtues. His work uses music, visual art, gameplay, and facilitated participation to create experiences that strengthen human connection and invite communities to build meaning together.