Nonchalance
 | |
| Company type | For profit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Games |
| Founded | in San Francisco, California, United States |
| Founders | Jeff Hull, Sara Thacher, Uriah Findley |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Website | nonchalance |
Nonchalance is a design consultancy group in San Francisco, California, founded by Jeff Hull, Sara Thacher, and Uriah Findley. Their work focuses on interactive, immersive art installations, which they call "situational design".[1]
The Jejune Institute
In 2008, Nonchalance created The Jejune Institute, an alternate reality game, public art installation and immersive experience that ran in San Francisco, California, from 2008 to 10 April 2011.[2] It was funded by Hull with some of the proceeds from the sale of his father Blair Hull's financial company and had operating costs "in the low six figures" during its run, including salaries and office space.[3]
Over the course of three years, it enrolled more than 10,000 players who, responding to eccentric flyers plastered all over the city, started the game by receiving their "induction" at the fake headquarters of the institute, located in an office building in San Francisco's Financial District.[4][5]
Latitude Society
In 2015, Nonchalance opened the Latitude Society, an invite-only secret society and immersive experience.[6] It featured a clubhouse, an arcade, and regular social events. The Latitude Society closed after one year, at least partially due to an operating cost of $3,000 per day.[7][8]
SYGNYL
From 2021 to 2022, Nonchalance ran a podcast called SYGNYL, "a participatory-arts podcast" inviting the audience to participate in "small collaborative acts in the real world."[9]
Awards
The Jejune Institute won "Best World" and "Best Story" at Indiecade 2010,[10] and "Best Alternate Reality" in the SF Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay 2010".[11]
References
- ^ Byrne, Bryony. "Aesthetica Magazine - The Games of Nonchalance". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Paulas, Rick (11 March 2011). "Last Chance: The Mysteries of San Francisco's Creepy Jejune Institute". The Awl. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Woo, Stu (24 March 2011). "Urban Scavenger Hunt Finds Followers". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Rothe, E. Nina (1 October 2013). "Down the Rabbit Hole with Spencer McCall's The Institute". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ Harmanci, Reyhan (21 April 2011). "Interested in the Jejune Institute? It's Too Late". New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ Paulas, Rick (24 September 2015). "'We Value Experience': Can a Secret Society Become a Business?". Longreads. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Laurensen, Lydia (7 March 2016). "My Year in San Francisco's $2 Million Secret Society Startup". www.vice.com. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Paulas, Rick (20 October 2015). "Postscript: A Secret Society Shuts Its Doors". Longreads. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Moore, Peter (15 February 2021). "The SYGNYL is a Participatory-arts Podcast that Subtly Invites listeners into a hidden world…". The Entertainment Engine. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Watson, Jeff (3 Jan 2011). "Jeff Hull on The Games of Nonchalance: a guerrilla street war against banality and routine | remotedevice.net". Remote Device. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ "Best of the Bay 2009: City Living". San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966–2014. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2022.