Fugees launch HOPELINE, an art project built around a phone line

The Fugees have created an art project called HOPELINE, and fans can call in to hear personal messages from members Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean.

The project takes its inspiration from John Giorno, the American poet, according to Artnet News. Giorno was known for work that reached people through everyday tools, and HOPELINE follows that idea by putting the work on a phone line.

The hotline is called the FUGEES HOPELINE. A hotline is a phone number that connects callers to a recording or a live service. Here, callers hear messages from Hill and Jean.

Selected contributions to the project will also be shown at Art Basel Miami Beach, the art fair held each year in Miami Beach, Florida. The next edition of the fair runs from December 4 to 6, 2026, according to Art Basel's website.

For visitors to the fair, that gives a second way to encounter the project: in a gallery space, not only over the phone. The fair is one of the largest annual meetings of galleries, collectors and artists in the art world, where dealers show work to buyers and the public. Its December dates fall in the final weeks of the year.

Anyone who wants to take part can start by calling the hotline. The project is a meeting point between music and visual art, and the people who sign up to call will be the first to hear what it sounds like.