Strangers Shaking Hands is a social experiment promoting one of the most ubiquitous forms of public greeting in a setting where spontaneous interpersonal interaction is atypical. Over a period of several weeks in the spring of 2008, we stopped strangers shopping at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California, and asked if they would be willing to introduce themselves and shake hands with other strangers on the street. Blurring the lines between art and life, we encouraged a simple encounter that interrupted the conventional dynamics of the contemporary American shopping environment.



The Strangers Shaking Hands photo book illustrates what happens when a new form of exchange is encouraged in the shopping environment--one based on human interaction rather than economic interchange.