THE HP CONCERT SERIES PRESENTS

JOHN
HINCKLEY JR.

DATE 21 DEC 2025
TIME 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
VENUE Gazebo @ Centennial Park
3806 University Blvd, Highland Park
TICKETS FREE / OPEN TO PUBLIC

An “acoustic evening of original music” in the heart of Highland Park.*

*No actual performance will take place. See below for full context.

Neighborhood Articles & Events

Other dispatches from the HP Concert Series universe – fake news, real anxieties, and extremely specific Highland Park problems.

Event Posters

A selection of promotional materials created for the HP Concert Series.

Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3 Poster 4 Poster 5 Poster 6 Poster 7

What Is This Event?

This website and the accompanying posters are part of a social-practice art project staged in Highland Park, Texas. It uses the unlikely premise of a John Hinckley Jr. “community concert” to examine how affluent neighborhoods talk about, and avoid talking about, mental health, public disturbance, and “uncomfortable” people.

Not a Real Concert

No performance has been booked. No tickets are being sold. John Hinckley Jr. is not scheduled to appear. The event information on the posters is intentionally convincing at first glance, but ultimately fictional.

The goal is not to glamorize violence or notoriety. The goal is to surface the tension between a pristine public image and the very real private struggles that exist in every community, including Highland Park.

Why a Concert Poster?

Concert posters feel harmless, friendly, and routine. They blend into the visual noise of coffee shops, park bulletin boards, and neighborhood poles. By placing a deeply unsettling name into that friendly format, the project asks:

  • What kind of harm are we comfortable ignoring?
  • Who gets compassion, and who gets erased?
  • What do we choose to keep “off the lawn” and out of sight?

Why Highland Park?

Highland Park is known for manicured lawns, quiet streets, and tightly curated public life. It is also a place, like many affluent communities, where distress is often handled quietly: sent to wilderness programs, private rehabs, or behind closed doors.

Visible vs. Invisible

A loud, visibly unstable person in public is treated as a disruption. A quiet crisis behind a brick wall is treated as a private matter. This project sits in between those two spaces.

Safety or Silence?

When neighborhoods prioritize smooth surfaces and pleasant optics, difficult conversations can be pushed away in the name of “safety” and “standards.” Silence becomes a kind of policy.

Public Space as Stage

By using park space, utility poles, and digital flyers, the project treats the neighborhood itself as a stage, asking residents to notice what they’re comfortable seeing, and what they are not.

Questions & Clarifications

Is this a real concert?

No. There is no scheduled performance. The posters, website, and social media accounts exist solely as components of an art and research project on mental health, visibility, and community image.

Does this project support or endorse John Hinckley Jr.?

No. The project does not endorse Hinckley, his past actions, or political violence of any kind. His name is used as a symbol of discomfort, notoriety, and the way society processes people who have caused harm and later reappear in public life.

Why use something so provocative?

Because neighborhoods often respond more strongly to uncomfortable symbols than to quiet, everyday suffering. The provocation is meant to open space for honest conversation, not to shock for its own sake.

Who created this project?

This site and the accompanying materials were created as part of an academic and artistic exploration of mental health, community standards, and suburban identity in North Texas.