JOY Cafe

‘Loneliness is social hunger’ - feed yourself at the JOY Café

Location: 48 Brook Street, Mayfair
Dates: October 2022

JOY Cafe was an interactive shop front art installation and live performance where members of the public were invited to come and enjoy a delicious social connection. Created for those feeling socially malnourished and thirsty for meaningful contact post-pandemic, JOY Café was a pop-up site-specific installation where people could chat, play, laugh and nourish their ‘social biome’.

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Plug back into JOY

Members of the public were invited to bring a friend, come alone or choose to chat with a JOY Bomb character. The experience provided a 20-minute socially nutritious experience and visual treat over a drink and a snack and the chance to become part of the unique pop-up site-specific installation with live actors.

Participants sat and relaxed in the shop window at JOY Café while becoming part of the show amid a kitsch kaleidoscope of vivid clashing colours, a fur carpet, inflatable dogs and messages spreading positive vibes to all. Numerous photo opportunities were provided, and visitors were strongly encouraged to capture their fun time.

  • “Stepping into a brightly coloured den of joy, fuelled by some fluorescent coloured wine, I was greeted by a panda who invited me to join him in his reflections on love inspired by the books of Barbara Cartland. Surreal fun and joy at its finest!"

    SYNTHIA GRIFFIN – CREATIVE ECONOMY TEAM BARNET COUNCIL, NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BE FIRST, MEMBER OF THE ART & PLACE CONSORTIUM, CREATIVE PLACE MAKER

  • “The Joy Bomb Cafe took me out of my comfort zone and back in from a different angle!  It was fun, different and unexpected. It made me think creatively about small talk. Initially feeling out of place I soon settled into this different world. In hindsight the situation was reflective of real life. A very clever piece of work. Would certainly recommend!”

    Katie Thackery – Director of Innovation, Delancey