Photos by Josh Orcutt
What’s more unusual than being in complete silence peering into a stranger’s eyes for a minute or more? Perhaps connecting with that stranger on a level deeper than explanation.
Liberators International, a peaceful international social movement group, organized “The World’s Biggest Eye Contact Experiment: Phoenix” Thursday at Civic Space Park on Central Avenue and Fillmore Street. With events in more than 140 cities worldwide, the experiment encourages participants to create connections with one another through a minute of eye contact.
Liberators International has accepted volunteers from each city to facilitate the movement. Phoenix hosts Cynthia Djengue and Ann Cabano helped arrange Thursday’s event.
“Sitting and thinking about the experience has really ingrained that need to connect with people even deeper,” Cabano said.
Attendees sat across from one another on chairs or pillows on the ground. Some sat in silence while others talked quietly to one another. Some held hands while making eye contact.
With the downtown bustle of traffic nearby, participants held fixation upon one another. After sharing a stare, strangers of all ages and walks of life united in handshakes, hugs and smiles.
“Even without any speech, you get a chance to look into the other person’s eyes, and though they may be covered in tattoos, have dreadlocks and haven’t showered in three days, you realize at the core, ‘this person is a lot like me,’” said Mike Albee, a local attorney who participated in the event.
The Phoenix event drew a crowd of 30-40 participants at a time. More than 115,000 people have participated in the events across the globe, according to the group’s website. Although many participants discovered the event through Facebook days earlier, several bystanders joined in the fun Thursday as well.
Amid smiles and laughter, photographer Geoff Nail described his observations of the event as “super genuine” and “honest.”
“It’s cool to see strangers coming together and hugging, not just like a pat on the back, but like a long solo hug,” Nail said.
Every participant interviewed gave positive feedback of the event, and all said they plan to use their experience in the future.
“I’d do it again,” Albee said. “If all of Phoenix were to do it, I think it would give people a different perspective, a positive perspective.”
The event’s Facebook page showed more than 513 attendees, and all posts and photos on the wall have shown the positive experiences the now not-so-strangers had.
“It was amazing!” posted Facebook user Krystal Renee Reyes. “So grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this. I didn’t get to stay long, but the brief hour I was there was absolutly [sic] wonderful. Such beautiful souls in our community!”
Contact the reporter at Jackson.Dorsey@asu.edu.
