Atlanta’s beautiful Wind Phone is finally finding a permanent home in the city, and we’re happy to see it’s staying around! Keep scrolling to learn more about the Atlanta Wind Phone and where you can find it.
First of all, what is a Wind Phone?
A Wind Phone is a concept that helps loved ones cope with their losses in a gentle, community-oriented way. In a very summarized way, the Wind Phone is a way to speak your grief into the wind, sending love to lost loved ones.
The plaque on Atlanta’s Wind Phone explains the installation’s history beautifully, saying:
Wind Phones were first created in 2010 by Itaru Sasaki in Japan as he was grieving the death of his cousin. This concept has grown and spread in the last 15 years, and you can find Wind Phones around the world. Wind Phones are an interactive invitation to reflect and say the things we want to say to those we have lost. It is a reminder that we don’t need a response to speak to our lost loved ones. Just speaking our grief out loud with intention is potent medicine in and of itself.
And according to the Smithsonian, just mere months after the first Wind Phone was created, the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, killing more than 20,000 people. Following the tragic natural disaster, the creator, Sasaki opened his Wind Phone to neighbors, and eventually strangers who traveled from all over Japan to “speak through the ‘phone of the wind’ to those they loved.”
Where will Atlanta’s Wind Phone be located?
The Atlanta Wind Phone will head to the Historic Oakland Cemetery in the spring of 2026, once site planning and installation are complete.
Dr. Richard Harker, president & CEO of Historic Oakland Foundation says,
The Atlanta Wind Phone is a natural fit for Oakland because this space reminds us every day that memory, loss, and legacy are part of our shared story. By partnering with the Grief House to give the community a quiet, accessible place to speak their grief, we deepen Oakland’s role as a place of memory, connection, and healing.
As a public park and community space, Oakland is already a place where Atlantans come to reflect, remember, and connect. The cemetery offers historic tours, quiet walks, and, of course, visits with ‘resident’ loved ones. The addition of the Atlanta Wind Phone will offer a dedicated space for grief, remembrance, and healing rooted in both place and purpose.
Can anyone use the Wind Phone at Oakland Cemetery?
Yes! The public will be invited to use the Atlanta Wind Phone at no cost. It will be available to all Oakland visitors from dawn to dusk.