FAQ

We presented our final festival of walks in July 2016. The Elastic City project will officially end with the release of a book (forthcoming 2018-9). Sign up for our mailing list to keep in the loop. (See the "Join Mailing List" link on the top right of this site.)

These walks are intimate performances by design. The artist may give you specific instructions--don't worry, you don't have to say yes. For example, there are moments in certain walks where you will be asked to be silent. You will not be asked to do anything that compromises your safety.

A way is an experiential workshop. It is instructional and participatory. An artist will share their "ways of working" with a group. You'll leave the way with an expanded poetic vocabulary and refreshingly skewed perspective of the world.

Yup, you can. Keep in mind that most of our events are free to attend. That said, if there's an admission fee, you can pay via cash or credit card at the starting point. We hope you'll sign up in advance so that we don't have to turn you away if the event is over capacity.

The walks, talks and ways usually range from 60 minutes to 2.5 hours, but this can vary. Most average around 90 minutes. Each event has its own page on the website and on the lower right hand part of the page, you'll see it says "Duration."

Some people confuse our walks with pre-recorded audio tours. Elastic City walks are live walks led by live artists. There might be a portion of a walk where an artist wants participants to use headphones, but that's rare, and if the case, Elastic City will provide everything for you or advise you if you need to bring something to the walk.

Upon purchasing a spot (or reserving a spot, if the event is free), you will receive three emails. The first will be an email with a receipt and all you need to know. You'll receive a reminder email 24 hours before your event with the same info and any new details. We'll even email you after the event asking for your feedback and requesting you upload photos/videos to different sites. We love you and we show it in our emails.

Once you've chosen which events you'd like to attend and are in the 'shopping cart' part of the website, you'll see an "enter discount code" portion of the form. Please enter the code there and "apply" it to your order. You should see it recognized instantly.

Please note that discounts are only for web-based orders--we do not honor discounts at the starting point on the day of the event. Thanks.

If you already purchased a spot for an event and now want to sign up for a different one, email us: info@elastic-city.org and tell us your name, the event you signed up for, and what you'd like to change it to. Provided there is space, you got it. If there's a difference in cost for some reason, we'll accommodate your needs.

Events that are cancelled by Elastic City will be fully refunded. Reservations cancelled by the participant are refundable according to the following schedule:

0-24 hours: 0% of amount paid
24-48 hours: 50% of amount paid
More than 48 hours: 90% of amount paid

Refunds will be issued as a credit to the payment form used. These refund rates are based on real costs that are incurred by Elastic City.

We'll let you know in the confirmation email how to find the artist, but usually the artist will have a red balloon. Presuming you're at the starting point, the artist will find you. Trust. You'll see a group forming. We try to pick spots that aren't too heavily populated. Plus, if you've purchased a post (or if free, if you've made a reservation) on the website, you will likely receive the artist's phone number in your confirmation email in the event that you can't find them. You can always call us if you're lost. We offer free advice: 347.829.7779.

Unless built in to a particular walk or way, there are no set bathroom breaks. That said, we can always find you one, so don't worry!

The artists are paid an honorarium by Elastic City, but please considering donating to Elastic City via this link.

All donations are tax-deductible.

Sure, click here for more info.
We offer private walks at the availability of the artist. There are fee minimums for arranging private walks and we'd be happy to discuss. Please email info@elastic-city.org for more info or call Todd Shalom at: 347.829.7779


You can photograph and record at the discretion of the artists. We hope that you'd post the footage to our flickr, facebook, youtube, or vimeo pages and/or send footage to us at info@elastic-city.org :) There are moments when it might be inappropriate to photograph or record--the artist leading your walk/way will let you know, but if not, it is assumed that you'll be considerate to your environment.

Every once in a while, Elastic City photographers/videographers attend walks/ways to document them for potential press photos, in-house documentation or to use when applying for grants. If you do not want to be photographed or recorded, please tell the artist upon arrival.

You should dress comfortably. Check weather.com if you'd like to see what the weather will be for the day of your walk. In terms of footwear, flip-flops don't give much support to the feet, but you know your body better than we do. Some walks/ways might have a specific dress code, and you will be notified of that. That's rare though. In general, you should just wear something, as New York isn't as liberal as it should be regarding public nudity.

Elastic City generally presents events rain or shine. We've presented over 200 events and canceled only a few times. We usually wait until 2 hours before the start time to make the decision if we are going to cancel. In the event of inclement weather, please check the twitter feed on our homepage or email us at info@elastic-city.org to confirm our schedule. Since summer storms move quickly, we try to wait it out as long as we can before canceling.

If you've already signed up for the event and we have to cancel, we will get in touch with you. Elastic City reserves the right to cancel events in the event of potentially dangerous weather. Tickets purchased for any canceled event will be handled according to our Refund Policy.

(# of times we've used the some variation of the word 'cancel' in these 2 paragraphs above: 6)

Children are welcome for most walks. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. Children under school-age can walk for free unless otherwise noted. There are some walks where it would not be appropriate for them, and that is carefully specified in the walk description.

Please keep in mind that these walks are intimate by design. For example, there are moments in certain walks where it is required to be silent. You know your child best--we trust that you'll make sure they don't disrupt the walk. Disruptive behavior can result in you and your child being asked to leave the walk.

Pets/animals of any kind are unfortunately not allowed on any walk, but you may bring a seeing-eye dog.

Elastic City welcomes people of any ability to our events. As each event is unique, we'll gladly recommend an event for you and we'll do all that we can to make sure you're comfortable.

We do not provide wheelchairs nor strollers unless otherwise noted, and since most events are outside, we cannot guarantee that all curbs will comply with ADA regulations. That said, most walks can be taken by those in a wheelchair, but please inform us first of your ability.

For those with visual/hearing impairments, please ask us for advice on which would be the optimal event to attend if uncertain about your ability to participate.

You can send an email to info@elastic-city.org or call us at 347.829.7779.

We do not have an operator at our phone line, but we might pick up if your number looks desirable. We are constantly checking our voicemail. We will return calls as soon as possible--usually within 24 hours. Please leave your name & number.

We're not spam fans, so we won't send you many emails. We'll only send you emails about your walk/s and an email once/month during the season with new walk info and tales of city love and woe (whoa). We won't sell nor give away your email address, either.