Discover Colombia through its (he)art

Shanghai is in for a surprise from Colombia, but not of the illicit kind. From dcist comes a heartwarming story of, well, heart statues that have been placed around DC as part of an advertising campaign from the Colombian government. Dcist surmises that the campaign, aptly named "Discover Colombia Through its Heart," is attempting to change the country's public image: apparently kidnapping and cocaine are bad draws for tourism. And lucky for us, Shanghai will soon be graced with the exhibition.

From dcist:

The exhibit is making its first stop here in Washington, on display at Union Station through Sept. 15, and will then move on to New York City and Shanghai. There are 47 heart statues in all, each differently decorated but all bearing an advertising message for Colombia, of which 40 have been placed at locations around the District, with the remaining seven part of the exhibit at Union Station.

We're not really sure if the way to change the hearts and minds of people around the world is through a public art instillation. But we do like art instillations in general, so we'll keep an eye out for them. Shanghai can be a pretty heartless place, so we think a few more hearts couldn't hurt.