PROJECT ARCHIVE
Queer Botany
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Project Description:
Queer Botany is a tour with a series of outdoor interpretive displays that tell stories about plants from marginalised perspectives. The focus is on such site-specific wild plants as the dog rose, horse chestnut, coppiced willow and yellow flag. Participants can either learn about them on the project website, find the displays on their own, or be part of a guided tour at the Walthamstow Marshes, northeast London. The primary audience is the 18-30-year-old east London LGBTQ+ community, interested in environmental issues. The project emerges from the theoretical lens of queer ecology, which brings together queer theory and eco-criticism. A queer ecological perspective can help displace the dualities that are perceived to exist in culture and nature, preferring instead to insist on multiplicity and diversity. The aims are to share marginalized perspectives, support more diverse representations about the environment and outdoors and affirm connections between queerness and nature. To meet the project’s sustainability goals, it was important to prioritise biodegradable materials. Recycled paper, plant-based textiles, and coppiced wood made for more sustainable materials that minimized the project’s carbon footprint. This was also important as a means of embracing the ephemeral and ever-changing aspect of nature as opposed to the traditional approach to outdoor interpretive displays, which often employs metals, plastic vinyl, and toxic paints in the hopes of lasting forever and needing little-to-no upkeep. Due to the climate emergency, the subject of ecology is urgent. Talking more about plant species can help improve biodiversity. Through the event in Walthamstow Marshes, we brought people from the community together to discuss the environment, informed people on queer ecology, shared marginalised LGBTQ+ stories, and brought attention to wild plants in the Marshes. Plants hold a wide variety of stories to be explored through narratives new and old. Project Location: Walthamstow Marshes, London Project Team: Botanical and Horticultural Consultancy, Sophie Leguile Botanical Consultancy, Lizzie Roeble Writing, Kiron Ward Concept Development and Installation, Lucy Hayhoe Making and Installation, Rosa Pascual Spatial Design, Phark Lertchanyakul Sewing and Pattern Cutting, Leanne Finn-Davis Film, Sally Ashby Installation, Jess Barter Installation, Haruyasu Yanagi Installation, Callum Murphy Lessons Learned: One of the main insights that came from the research and implementation of the project is that there is clear interest in queer ecological thought and its real-world applications. There is also an interest in connecting with nature, through plants in particular. With the decline in LGBTQ+ public spaces, an appetite for new queer non-alcoholic spaces are currently in demand. Due to our current climate emergency, the subject of ecology is urgent, and its message can help to improve biodiversity. Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/queerbotany/, https://www.instagram.com/sjzavala/ Link: https://www.queerbotany.com, https://sjzavala.com/queer-botany, https://graduateshowcase.arts.ac.uk/projects/197360/cover |
Food For Thought
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Project Description:
Food For Thought is a mobile experience that intends to share Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) stories over food. The core idea of Food For Thought is to amplify the voices of the AAPI community in response to the dramatic increase in AAPI-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by traditional Asian street food carts, the Food For Thought cart blends Eastern and Western aesthetics to create a transformational food experience that brings the reality of the AAPI experience to the forefront. The cart would serve the cuisine in cafeteria-style trays from different countries across Asia and the Pacific Islands. This cuisine would alternate weekly or bi-weekly. Graphics accompany the food trays that share stories and direct testimonies from AAPI. A key element of this project is its ability to travel and interact with different environments. Starting in Los Angeles, California, this project will travel across five locations, going from East to West. Traveling from East to West calls to the immigration experience many AAPIs face coming to America, coming from the global East to the global West. Another element of this project is that the audience can take a bit of the experience home. After eating and absorbing the AAPI stories, participants can take home a traditional Asian snack Pocky with redesigned packaging. Food For Thought event facilitators will distribute the packaging to participants after they finish their main meal. The redesigned packaging includes AAPI testimonies, statistics, and ways to help the community. Food For Thought is a speculative project. Project Location: Los Angeles, CA Project Team: A special thanks to my UC Davis DES 187 class for their support and feedback: Professor Tim McNeil, TA Fatema Mostafa Classmates Milan Finnie, Lydia Lee, Chloe Thepenier, Shaina Whaley, Zaira Escalante-Lopez, Athena Colozza, and Cynthia Osborn Lessons Learned: Design is very powerful. It can uplift the voices of marginalized communities and be the key to spark empathy among different groups of people. Exploring multiple design concepts is necessary to find the best possible solution that communicates the core idea most effectively. |
Common Ground
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Project Description:
Common Ground is a community pop-up exhibit on civil discourse that reinforces the importance of dialogue as a means of human engagement and its impact on a balanced society. The Socratic Method, which is a form of conversation rooted in asking and answering questions to promote critical thinking and to draw out underlying assumptions, is the primary purpose of this experience. The goal is to achieve an atmosphere where two people can sit together and rationalize their arguments to get to the truth, or a solution to one of many societal issues. Recognizing the urgent need for civil discourse, there will be interactive displays and activities to inform and inspire people to participate in these conversations. People are encouraged to present well-researched positions on different sides of an issue, listen to each other, and formulate a considered and reasoned answer without rushing to an automatic and potentially divisive response. People are not required to participate, it’s optional. The main takeaway is that people contemplate what constitutes civil discourse, why it’s important, and leave realizing they share more common ground than they first thought. Common Ground is a speculative project that is intended to travel to different communities where it can engage a wide and diverse audience. Project Location: Vacaville, CA Project Team: Thank you to Professor Tim McNeil and TA Fatema Mostafa for very valuable feedback and support. Thank you to classmates Michelle Hong, Milan Finnie, Chloe Thepenier, Zaira Escalante-Lopez, Lydia Lee, Athena Colozza and Cynthia Osborn for additional feedback. Lessons Learned: It is important to take into account the comfort of participants given the sensitive nature of discourse. For instance, in order to enhance an atmosphere where discourse is safe, this project uses colors that promote feelings of calm and safety. It is also necessary to consider ways of teaching participants how to have productive conversations (to listen more, ask questions, etc.) hence the built-in guidelines on the table. |
Story Huts
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Project Description:
Story telling is a tradition practiced by Latino families which ranges from telling tales about family, folktales, jokes, riddles, songs and dichos (sayings) phrases that are meant to provide advice. Oral storytelling contributes to increased literacy for youth. The goal of STORY HUTS is to serve as an intervention in El Dorado Park in Salinas, CA. Story Huts promotes and preserves the culture of sharing stories within the Chicanx/Latinx community. Four of these story huts will be located in different areas within the park parameter. Each story hut centers distinct themes that connect back to the common themes explored in traditional Latinx storytelling for a series of age groups. These story huts are a space where the public can come together and partake in interactive story telling. Members of the community can request stories and submit story prompts for the public to respond to. Project Location: Salinas, CA Project Team: Thank you to Professor Tim McNeil, TA Fatema Mostafa and my Narrative Environment peers: Michelle Hong, Milan Finnie, Shaina Whaley, Chloe Thepenier, Lydia Lee, Athena Colozza and Cynthia Osborn for your feedback during this project. Lessons Learned: Listening to the community to understand the use of the existing space the intervention will be placed in. The intervention should enhance the experience of residents without disturbing the natural flow of the environment. Always design with intention. Link: https://zplatdesign.myportfolio.com/story-huts |
Transitions
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Project Description: “Transitions” is a soundscape exhibition that provides a memorial space for people to appreciate loved ones who have passed away. Two shipping containers will be used to create separate spaces; one containing the voices of these who lost someone, and the other containing the voices of those who have passed on. Project Location: Traveling, starting at the grass field at the Imperial Beach Pier Plaza. The "Transitions" soundscape exhibition can be packed into the shipping containers for travel. Project Team: Milan Finnie Lessons Learned: This project should consider inclusivity and welcome people in a way that makes them feel respected. Link: https://youtu.be/4Tlo9wBN76Y |
Happy Mail
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Project Description:
The Happy Mail concept grew out of the lack of personal and meaningful human connections due to COVID-19 and social distancing. While there are many important and heavy issues happening in this world, the little things still have the power to brighten people’s day and make us smile. One of those things is receiving an unexpected caring message from a loved one. In the 2020-2021 context of Zoom fatigue and screen overload, sending this message through a hand-written postcard is the perfect way to share a tangible and wonderful surprise via regular mail. Inspired by the Little Free Library concept (https://littlefreelibrary.org) the Happy Mail Postcard Station offers a community-based opportunity to exchange postcards, promote local artists and encourage postcard writing. Community members can take a postcard and/or leave a postcard at the station. Stamps are provided, as well as pens and a flat writing surface. A drop-off mailbox is available for the ready-to-mail postcards, which would be collected either by a volunteer or a mail carrier if an arrangement can be made with the local post office. Additionally, the one-stop station offers prompts for postcard writing and a “postcard of the month” highlights the work of local artists. The fun and playful design targets a younger audience to bring back interest for this traditional communication method. A smaller, simpler and cheaper option is available as well, working as an alternative to the larger station or as a satellite station in bigger cities. Happy Mail is a speculative project. Project Location: Davis, CA Project Team: Thank you for all the feedback: Professor Tim McNeil, TA Fatema Mostafa and classmates Michelle Hong, Milan Finnie, Shaina Whaley, Zaira Escalante-Lopez, Lydia Lee, Athena Colozza and Cynthia Osborn. Lessons Learned: Taking the time to explore a few different concepts based on the main idea/purpose is essential to avoid rushing into the project and missing out on potentially more appropriate opportunities and solutions. |
The Festival of Joy
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Project Description:
The Festival of Joy – with the William Morris Gallery. The home of William Morris is now a gallery, nestled in parkland in Walthamstow, East London. Morris was the iconic leader of the nineteenth-century British Arts and Crafts movement. The Gallery tells the story of his life as designer, poet and activist. Like museums across the world COVID-19 has restricted access to the William Morris Gallery because it had to reduce visitor numbers to ensure safe social distancing. It has also had to close completely for periods of time over the last year. Whilst the Gallery is rich in history and culture, Walthamstow High Street nearby, like many local high streets in the UK, has fallen into decline in recent years, as people choose to shop at mega stores or online. The team of Narrative Environments students were tasked with creating a strategy that would manifest Morris’ teachings and revolutionary ideologies in the High Street to help revitalize it and, in doing so, increase local interest and use of the Gallery. The students created a proposition for a ‘cultural corridor’ connecting the Gallery and High Street that took the form of a ‘Festival of Joy.’ The festival concept builds on pre-existing community initiatives and involves strategic alliances with community craftspeople. The students envisioned craft workshops taking place in the empty shops, reactivating disused spaces in the High Street with activities, displays and installations that would spill out onto the street. They envisaged the programme would culminate in a parade from the High Street to the Gallery. The vibrant visual branding is inspired by the joy of making, sharing, togetherness for a better future. Project Location: Walthamstow, London UK Project Team: MA Narrative Environments Student Team: Jessica Barter, Haruka Katsuyama, Lilly Marshall, Lucy McCulloch, Jasmine Ouyang, Genea Saunders, Muyun Zhang. Big thanks to: Louise Fitton, Louise Fitton | Head of Museum, Gallery & Archives | Economic Growth, The London Borough of Waltham Forest. Lessons Learned: It is important to do a substantial amount of site and social research to discover who is already running community schemes. These are the bedrock upon which a successful project can grow. There is often an incredible amount of citizen expertise, energy ready to channel into new projects. There is also often a strong sense of ownership and attachment to place among local residents which needs to take the lead in the innovation. The designer acts as a facilitator/enabler. Social Media: @narrativeenvironements |
Projections On Historic Buildings
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Project Description:
As part of our celebration of the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, collection images were projected onto historic buildings in the park at Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site. These images interpreted the story of O'Neill in Danville and most importantly, the women who were instrumental in getting Tao House recognized as an Historic Landmark deserving of Federal protection. Thalia Brewer, Ann Cavanagh, and Deidre Katz were the first officers of the Eugene O’Neill National Monument Association which in 1971 took the initial steps to get Tao House and all 158.6 acres of surrounding land once owned by the O'Neills recognized as a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1974, Lois Sizoo and Darlene Blair co-founded the Eugene O’Neill Foundation with just twenty-five members and lobbied Congress to put the site under the protection of the National Park Service. After eighteen months of the Foundation’s tireless fundraising efforts, letter-writing campaigns, and collaborations formed with East Bay Regional Park District, local Members of Congress, and the California Legislature, President Gerald Ford signed Senate Bill 2398 into law in 1976, designating Tao House and 13 acres of the surrounding property as a National Historic Site. Women in the slideshow projected on Tao House include: Lois Sizoo, Darlene Blair, Thalia Brewer, Dorita Chaney, Helen Hayes, Linda Best, Helen Kelly, Karlyn Fralik, Virginia Rei, Dawn Perry, Barbara Pulley, Wendy Cooper, and Carole Wynstra. Thanks to the indomitable dedication of these and many others, Eugene O'Neill NHS can be enjoyed as a part of your public lands now and for years to come. Project Location: Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site Project Team: Tory Starling, Altman Studeny - video editing, research, projection Victoria Ramirez, research, projection Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woy5W4A0xtM |
The Discovery Pavilion at the British Museum
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Project Description:
MA Narrative Environments students proposed a project to design a novel installation for the piazza of the British Library which normally functions as a thoroughfare, a place to congregate for users, staff and passers-by. The multi-disciplinary student team worked closely with the BAME Staff Network at the Library, and gathered the views of a range of staff members via interviews and a questionnaire, to create an installation that would provoke thought and facilitate discussions around what it could mean to decolonize and diversify the Library’s collections. The vast collections span millennia and many different parts of the world, and inevitably parts of the collection can be associated with British imperial expansion. That history has rarely featured in the Library’s interpretation, its displays and artwork, its webpages and projects. The students designed a pavilion that would enable those who enter to unearth diverse and conflicting stories held within the Library. The student team proposed that the pavilion, being positioned directly over the four floors of basement stores, would function as an unexpected ‘portal’ with a digital interface that pictured the world of the Library below ground. An app would enable visitors to use their mobile phones to draw up content from the collection. Voice recordings, text, images and digital representations of objects would be visualized floating up to the surface and hovering at eye level. The students envisaged that the portal/pavilion would act as a new gateway into the Library, a moment of spectacle, surprise, discovery, the start of a new journey into the Library's world. It would become a magnet, attracting attention, inviting exploration, building connectivity and introducing opportunities for sharing content and prompting new forms of co-curation. The use of a digital platform has the potential to enable the content to be shared in multiple ways among users, and could be curated by staff, co-curated by staff and users, or co-curated by groups of users. Project Location: In the piazza outside the British Library, London, UK. Project Team: Student Design Team at MA Narrative Environments Students from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London: Yi Fu, Natalie Gillard, Margo Lazarenkova, Mark Lonsdale, Dongdong Qu, Emma Thompson and Beichen Yang Special thanks to: Pardaad Chamsaz – Curator, Germanic Collections, The British Library, Maja Maricevic – Head of Higher Education and Science, The British Library, Scott Nolan – Conservation Support Assistant, The British Library Lucy Rowland – Curator, Oceania and Western Language Asia Collections, The British Library Lessons Learned: The decolonizing debate in the cultural sector is very complex and there is no single uncontested key message to communicate. It is vital for designers wanting to contribute to such initiatives to work more closely than usual with those who are instigating change and be open to a constant process of learning and critical self-reflection. Social Media: @narrativeenvironements |
Dreambase
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Project Description:
“Dreambase” is a proposal developed by MA Narrative Environments students for a Parklet outside Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Due to its size, GOSH is a dominant presence in its local neighbourhood. This parklet aims to ease stakeholder tensions and integrate the institution with the diverse local community by creating an inviting experience and healthier street environment. The design taps into narratives of sleep to create a therapeutic, peaceful outdoor space. Inspired by the students’ research with local residents, hospital staff and patients, the parklet design evokes various dreamworlds prompting individual reveries and shared moments of relaxation. A ‘gift’ from GOSH to the local community, the design creates a refreshing green space where residents, patients, and staff can enter a dreamlike environment to take a break from the often stressful realities of their day and peacefully re-charge. The parklet design also supports a programme of workshops and planting events, and incorporates social media platforms, in order to develop meaningful community engagement and create a shared sense of ownership. Project Location: Outside Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK Project Team: Student Team: Lile Liu, Jessica Sammut, Kaiyi Sheng, Sabrina Sigismondi, Yu Yang, Qiongzi Zhu Magali Thomson RIBA, Public Realm Project Manager | Built Environment Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust Ben Paul – resident /activist Young People’s Forum – GOSH Focus Group Paul Crozier –Holborn Association Joan Barker–GOSH Parent / Family Abjal Afrus / Tybalds Residents Association Lessons Learned: The need for comprehensive engagement with all stakeholders; the importance of creating something that works for everyone; that sound and smell are powerful ways of creating a sense of place and telling or evoking stories; small interventions can make a big difference to a neighbourhood when social and environmental concerns are addressed together. Social Media: @narrativeenvironements |
Great Ormond Street Hospital Parklet - Proposal
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Project Description:
MA Narrative Environments students have created a design proposal for a Great Ormond Street Hospital Parklet. The design aims to integrate and unify the hospital with its local community by creating a more permeable threshold between the hospital and the street, generating a healthier street environment, and enhancing the opportunity for connections within the community. In researching the site, the students discovered there is a long-standing connection between J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, and the hospital. Inspired by the book they included quotes into the parklet design, delivered through hidden underground sound tubes with speakers. The team developed an overall narrative message of ‘unity and connection’. Connection to nature was expressed through the natural weave, organic shaped panel around the exterior, through a living plant wall and though planted boxes filled with fragrant herbs, symbols of Peter Pan’s Neverland. Connection to people was expressed through round, open cut-outs in the exterior panel, the front of which becomes a site for local artists to paint murals. Interaction and community cohesion were encouraged by setting-up a community gardening scheme at the parklet. The design ultimately created an accessible, flexible and inclusive space with foldable, movable seats for wheelchairs. Project Location: In the street outside Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK Project Team: MA Narrative Environments Student Team: Liying Chen, Alexander Collinson, Wenjun Ding, Yichi Duan, Yanan Li, Mariella Mostyn Williams Magali Thomson RIBA – Public Realm Project Manager | Built Environment Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust Paul Crozier – Holborn Community Association Hazel East – Holborn Community Association Abjal Afrus – Chairman: Tybalds Residents Association Michael Poutney – Chairman: Rugby and Harper Resident’s Association Alec Forshaw – Great Ormond Street Resident Awale Olad – Councillor, Camden Council Julian Fulbrook – Councillor, Camden Council Sue Vincent – Councillor, Camden Council Dr Lucy Natarajan – Bartlett School of Planning UCL Lessons Learned: Historical research can inspire the physical design for contemporary social spaces. Social Media: @narrativeenvironements |
The Disrupt Space Black Box
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Project Description:
The Disrupt Space Black Box: MA Narrative Environments 1st year students create a multi-layered design strategy to support under-represented artists in Brixton. Creating meaningful connections within the diverse community of Brixton in South London, the “Disrupt Space” project showcases under-represented black artists through four connected experience design platforms. These experience platforms unfold to unite the Disrupt Space gallery with the neighbourhood and the world at large. An interactive mobile pop-up showing images of the artists’ work attracts attention, people hear the voices of the artists on a location-based audio trail that leads them from the pop-up to the gallery in Brixton Market. At the gallery, projections of the art spill out through the windows into the surrounding space. On entry, people encounter the original art-works and a digital platform opens the project to the world. The design responds to the lack of inter- and intra-community connections amongst a diverse local community faced with gentrification in Brixton. The project is a vehicle for inclusion and representation. The name “Black Box” is used to disrupt prevailing mental and emotional perceptions of the arts, in order to become more accessible. The “Black Box” is perceived as the antithesis of the elitism associated with the “White Cube”. The project results from a collaboration among MA Narrative Environments students, exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) and Disrupt Space Gallery (DSG). Project Location: Brixton, London, UK Project Team: MA Narrative Environments student team: Weimeng Dai, Jiaqi Xu, Zeyu Wang, Emma Brohan, Christos Mademtzis, Edith Kruk, Gracia Mutombo, and Patricia Austin - Course Leader of MA for https://narrative-environments.com/ at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts in London. And big thanks to: Helen Schulte, Sarah Okpokam and Phillip Tefft, Director of Ralph Appelbaum Associates London, and Paul Reid, Founder and Director of Disrupt Space Gallery Lessons Learned: The challenge of the “Disrupt Space” design was to combine four very different spaces, each communicating multiple voices, to unfold a coherent, engaging and accessible visitor experience. It shows how complexity and difference can be synthesised around a key message. Social Media: @narrativeenvironements |
Women Of Steel
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Project Description:
In October 2020, the Baltimore Museum of Industry opened a new exhibition titled Women of Steel. Originally designed as an exhibition in the museum’s small temporary gallery space as part of the national celebration of women during the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, the exhibit team instead opted to install the exhibition outside of the museum to allow for social distancing and open-air exploration during COVID-19. The exhibition was installed on the museum’s fence along Key Highway in South Baltimore. This is the first time the BMI has hosted an outdoor exhibition. It will be open through April 2021. Women of Steel highlights the stories of women who worked at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point mill in Baltimore from the 1930s until the mill closed in 2012. In many cases, women endured discrimination, sexual harassment, and childcare challenges. They made choices and sacrifices as they weighed risk and rewards in search of camaraderie, respect, and a livable wage. The exhibition features photographs and first-person quotes from the women themselves. The goal of this project was to share the stories of these hardworking women, who toiled alongside men in dirty, dangerous jobs for less pay. To make it widely accessible to the public, the exhibition was installed outside. It is free of charge, so admission cost is not a barrier as the pandemic has taken a toll on many household incomes, especially among the working class audiences we hope to engage. Project Location: Baltimore, Maryland - fence along Key Highway Project Team: Exhibit design: Danielle Nekimken. Exhibit team: Jessica Celmer, Auni Gelles, Mike Kuethe, Beth Maloney, Claire Mullins, Alexis Ojeda-Brown, Jane Woltereck. Lessons Learned: One consideration that we're still grappling with is how to measure impact. We cannot count the number of visitors as we used to (by ticket sales), as many people use this stretch of Key Highway to walk, jog, or wait for the bus. While many passerby may notice, we aren't sure how many are actually taking the time to read the panels. We can track the number of hits on the audio companion, hosted on SoundCloud and accessible via QR code--but realize that many people could enjoy the exhibit without this step. Halfway through its six-month run, we still haven't determined how best to track either the number of visitors or the "so what" question related to engagement. Weblink: https://www.thebmi.org/women-of-steel-reimagined/ |
Satellite Museums
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Project Description:
The Satellite Museum project recruits local businesses to exhibit fossil replicas from the Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Currently about 40 local businesses serve as Satellite Museum sites. Each Satellite Museum consists of a Naumann elephant tooth fossil replica with explanatory text. Tourism is an important local industry, and most of the Satellite Museums are hosted by hotels in town and serve mainly as PR for the Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum. In addition, a few of the Satellite Museums are hosted by businesses that are frequented by local residents, such as a dentist and a pastry shop. About half of the host businesses participated in workshops to paint their own fossil replica. The project was supported by a grant from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, so the fossils are provided free of charge. Background: The Nojiriko Naumann Elephant Museum was opened in 1984 to commemorate the discovery of Naumann elephant fossils at Lake Nojiri. The museum exhibits the excavated fossils and conducts on-going research and excavations. The museum is one of the flagship destinations for Shinano Town and is supported through public funds, but it has been struggling with declining visitors (as is the case for a lot of small town museums in Japan). The Satellite Museum project is part of a larger effort to create more vibrant connections with the local community. Project Location: Near Lake Nojiri in Shinano Town, Nagano Prefecture, Japan Project Team: Tetsuya Watanabe Lessons Learned: We launched the Satellite Museum project in 2017. We need to figure out a way to track the impact of the Satellite Museums and ask the host businesses what they think of the project. Also, we need to think about how to update the Satellite Museums, such as adding new fossils. Weblink: http://nojiriko-museum.com/ |
The Ryland Museum
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Project Description:
The Ryland Museum was created at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic to engage the children living in my apartment complex. With input from a group of 7 children, I developed five exhibits over 7 months. We focused on art and science, and took submissions from outside our building. Each exhibit had a topic, artwork and writing, and an activity that people could print online. Two exhibits have books that participants (or anyone) can buy. Project Location: Apartment hallway, San Jose, California Project Team: Amy Brown, Project Lead Justin Mitchell, for moral support. Julian and Basil Valdez, for inspiration. Lessons Learned: If you are looking for submissions, keep it really simple. And keep asking! Kids don't keep calendars. Don't let it get oversized in your head. Let it be as big as it really is, but still love it. Make a plan for what you want at the beginning. Seat of the pants is stressful. Get the parents on board-- let them know what it is you are trying to do and what it'll do for the kids. And how they can help. Weblink: https://www.artwormsbrown.com/ryland-museum |
Middle Ground: Reconsidering Ourselves and Others
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Project Description:
The Exploratorium, in collaboration with the city of San Francisco and key local and national community partners, secured National Science Foundation (NSF) support for Middle Ground: Reconsidering Ourselves and Others, a project to bring research on social psychology to public urban environments. Street Smarts combines recent work by the Exploratorium in social science exhibitry and urban learning spaces to develop a novel contribution to science learning in public spaces. The installation was located in San Francisco’s Civic Center and served the exceptionally diverse audiences that frequent the area. The installation was populated with architectural installations that engaged the public in social observation and participatory experiences, promoting learning about the science of social polarization, social dilemmas, and social norms. Inquiry into social phenomena is not only critical to understanding psychological mechanisms and principles, but is of fundamental importance in maintaining a citizenry capable of meeting real life global challenges. Scientists ranging from E.O. Wilson to Dacher Keltner have recently written about the importance of viewing humans as a fundamentally social species, emphasizing that improved understanding of our social interactions will shape humans’ future on this planet. How humans as “hyper-social animals” navigate dynamics between in-groups and out-groups, allocate resources, and negotiate conflicts between individual and collective interests is of utmost concern to the public good. By adding exhibits and digital content to social gathering places, Middle Ground framed and augmented people’s natural social curiosity with the perspectives and skills of social psychology researchers. In the process, research and evaluation has shown that visitors acquired new social observation skills, reflected on their own perceptions and actions, empathized with others of different social identities, and increased their appreciation for how social behavior, emotion, and thought can be studied scientifically. Project Location: Civic Center, San Francisco Project Team: The Exploratorium's Studio for Public Spaces team was honored to work with a wide variety of City and Community partners including: SF Public Main Library, SF City Planning, SF Civic Center Commons Initiative, Community Housing Partners, Urban Alchemy, and others listed on our website. Lessons Learned: Though the Studio for Public Spaces has refined it's approach to placemaking and inquiry based learning over many years, it's something that I would encourage any museum to try. It's complicated, but introducing placemaking practices (see Project for Public Spaces and Gehl Architects as guide posts) strengthens community ties, focuses our work on extremely diverse and non-traditional museum visitors, and demands a level of empathetic design that is bound to inspire your professional practice. Web Links: https://www.exploratorium.edu/middleground |
Between Us and Catastrophe
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Project Description:
Between Us and Catastrophe features six, almost life-size portraits of front-line workers--an Instacart shopper, a home mask-maker, a nurse, a coronavirus test administrator, Philadelphia sanitation workers, and a Caviar delivery rider. The portraits are displayed in a highly visible outdoor location in the heart of Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood, allowing visitors to experience the exhibition safely outside and on their own terms. An accompanying audio guide features interviews with three of the portrait subjects as well as the portrait-taker, Philadelphia documentary photographer Kyle Cassidy. A global pandemic is a science story. But during a pandemic, so is a story about mask-making, delivering food, and keeping our streets clean. Science is more than what happens in the lab or the search for a cure. These portraits remind us that we’re all connected to science and medicine and technology, but more importantly, we are all connected to each other. When the COVID-19 pandemic spread and lockdowns began in March of 2020, photographer Kyle Cassidy recognized that we were living through a historic moment. But he also recognized that for many people, especially those working on the front lines of the pandemic, the moment might pass by without a record of our everyday experiences. “Sitting home doing nothing would have driven me mad,” Cassidy says. “To feel that somebody out there is fighting your fight for you, and there's nothing you can do to help.” As a photographer, he could put faces to the crisis and shed light on the many different kinds of workers and helpers keeping us going. Originally, this project focused on doctors and nurses, but as the shutdown progressed, Cassidy realized there were far more individuals working to keep us all alive—from food shoppers and mask makers to sanitation workers and bicycle delivery people. These are the people standing between us and catastrophe. As part of an effort to document and interpret the pandemic, the Science History Institute partnered with Cassidy to display his portraits using the exterior of our building, bringing audiences these dynamic images during a time when city public health mandates have compelled museum galleries to close to visitors. Project Location: The exterior windows of the Science History Institute, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Project Team: Erin McLeary, project director Elisabeth Berry Drago, exhibit developer Michael Derian, exhibit designer Mariel Carr, senior audio producer Rigoberto Hernandez, audio producer Featuring the photographs of Kyle Cassidy Lessons Learned: The short timeline of this project (and the fact that it would largely be experienced outdoors by people passing by) meant that the content needed to be “bite-sized,” and this was a useful lesson in scaling content appropriately to format. The multimedia aspect (mixing the physical exhibit with a podcast-style audio piece) was also really satisfying and extended the experience significantly, which made us feel that we should always consider audio/video/media accompaniments in our exhibit planning. Web links: Project overview: https://www.sciencehistory.org/between-us-and-catastrophe; Direct link to audio guide: https://www.mixcloud.com/sciencehistory/between-us-and-catastrophe-audio-guide/; Full series of portraits: https://betweenusandcatastrophe.com |
Community Lost and Found
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Project Description: "Community Lost and Found" is an art exhibit located along the chain link fence of a post office parking lot. 7 Participating crafters and artists in one neighborhood were given a 1' x 1' wooden box and asked to create an artistic 3 Dimensional response to one of two questions: What have you lost during 2020? What have you found during 2020? The boxes are zip tied to the fence, along with some label text explaining the pieces (in both English and Spanish) Visitors or passers by can also respond to the questions by writing on wooden cut-outs or tags that they tie to the fence. 5 of the 7 were not self-identified artists. Andrea Jones, a museum consultant, organized the effort. The purpose, as described in the exhibits Introduction Panel: Community Lost and Found is a project designed to facilitate the process of grieving and also to inspire self-reflection, community connection, and hope during this pivotal time. It’s a pop-up art installation for neighbors by neighbors in a creative community. Local artists and crafters were asked to respond to one of two questions: WHAT HAVE YOU LOST DURING 2020? Or WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND DURING 2020? The 3D answers to these questions live inside each shadow box. Why now? This year has been a year full of drastic changes to the normal rhythm of our lives. In this transitional period, many of us have experienced profound losses. Many of these were very difficult to endure, but some were cathartic too. Because let’s face it, some things are better left behind. Along with the losses, came insights and new opportunities that were “found” - discoveries of self, exciting prospects, and awakened passions. In truth, this year has changed who we are. And there is more to come! So, stop and reflect with us. You might just find new meaning in the path you’re on. Project Location: Brentwood, MD - on a chain link fence Project Team: Artists: Clarke Bedford, Alicia Tarr, Krista Clark, Renee Regan, Sara Prigan, Cecily Habimana, Megan Abbot and Gary Hall. Help with Art Workshop and building boxes: Natalie Zeitz Thought partners: Margaret Boozer-Strother and Melissa Glasser Exterior Paint donation: Melissa Glasser Lessons Learned: • Recruiting the artists was the hardest part. I got a couple of responses through advertising on the neighborhood Facebook group. But just talking to people about the project was also successful. • I facilitated a workshop for participants on "Assemblage Art" and gave them a pre-workshop worksheet to help them get from idea to art. This is not easy for some people. And I think the scaffolding really helped. • The pre-installation process was just as important as the exhibit's effect on the neighborhood. Having an excuse to bond with neighbors was really an important part of the project. This bonding happened through attending the workshop and talking about our lives, sharing art materials, installing the exhibit together, and seeing the rewards of our collective effort. • The exhibit is in a neighborhood with decent amount of crime. A drug dealer lives nearby. Zero people have vandalized this exhibit or even taken a ball point pen. • Outdoor exhibits need a care-taker. I go by each day and replenish the tags, make sure the weather hasn't damaged it, and read the incoming comments (which is great) • I created a Facebook Page for the exhibit: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityLostAndFound which has been a great way for the press to find us. We've gotten A LOT of press for a small exhibit. See below: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/prince-georges-county/community-using-lost-and-found-art-exhibit-to-bring-people-together/2481693/ • This exhibit has been such a great teaching tool and experiment for doing more outdoor work. |
Sidewalk Surprises: A Roadshow Project
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Project Description: In these times of great stress and isolation, creative, healing play is especially important. In that spirit Madison Children's Museum launched Sidewalk Surprises during the summer of 2020, in collaboration with the city of Madison. This community-wide exhibit has enlivened city sidewalks with playful, whimsical, cross-cultural hopscotch challenges, encouraging movement and physical activity. Over thirty different kinds of sidewalk games were represented, including multi-cultural games, games for disabled community members, and games for younger children. Based on the book Hopscotch Around the World (Mary Lankford), the hopscotch games support cultural and math learning, spatial awareness, small and gross motor skills, and dexterity. "These playful games and activities, spread throughout the city of Madison, are the work the museum does best—creating joyful, active, play-based learning experiences for our community’s children that reinforce critical educational concepts," says Brenda Baker, director of exhibits for the museum. Museum staff and local artists have covered sidewalks across Madison and beyond with hundreds of these temporary hopscotch courses, mazes, and labyrinths. The spray chalk lasted several weeks, depending on the weather, giving many children a chance to enjoy them. These solo sidewalk games encourage walking—and skipping, hopping, and jumping—through spaces, rather than gathering. The games support social distancing as they create joy. This is especially important since many of children's most beloved places in the community are currently closed—Madison Children's Museum among them. They will be spread across the city's many, diverse neighborhoods and enhanced by online learning resources. "Kids' need for open-ended, creative play hasn't changed. But the opportunities for those rich play experiences have diminished," says Baker. "We know that plenty of good online resources for kids have sprung up during the pandemic. But parents and caregivers are looking for more opportunities for their kids to play outside. Using sidewalks as our canvas, I think we've found a way to recreate some of the museum experience in unexpected places—where kids will practically trip over these invitations to play, move, and learn." The sidewalk just got a little less pedestrian—and a lot more joyful. Project Location: Neighborhood sidewalks in Madison, Wisconsin, painted by Madison Children's Museum staff and artists Project Team: Sidewalk Surprises is a Madison Children's Museum ROADSHOW PROJECT, creating temporary public art in collaboration with the City of Madison. The project is joyfully made possible by Madison Community Foundation and Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation. Lessons Learned: This was hugely popular -- kids, adults, staff and artists who painted the hopscotched all had a lot of fun and freedom in making these. They weren't precious or perfect but instead, gleefully variable and creative. Also -- some of the spray chalk lasted months, others only days. Same brand, just different colors, so pre-test! Website: https://madisonchildrensmuseum.org/exhibits/mcm-roadshow/ |
The Beachcombers
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Project Description:
‘The Beachcombers’ was a heritage retro-roadshow and traveling exhibition. It celebrated transient seafront entertainments of the 1920s and 30s in the places where they had originally been performed and was linked to an exhibition in Worthing Museum & Art Gallery. The display materials were housed in vintage luggage of the period and the project was intended to evoke the vibrant bygone 'Golden Age' of British seaside holidays between two World Wars. Project Location: Beaches and seafront promenades in Brighton, Worthing and Littlehampton. (East Sussex and West Sussex, UK.) Project Team: Glyn Edwards, National Lottery Heritage Fund (UK) Lessons Learned: For outdoor work of this type there is a wealth of practical experience to tap into from street entertainers and market stall holders. The vagaries of the weather are a key factor, as are the permissions that apply in fringe spaces such as beaches. What is permissible in one town may be prohibited in its near neighbour. Finding out which bureaucrat or private landowner has final approval is not always straightforward. But the enthusiasm of the public chancing across something novel, stimulating and informative - without any barriers to participation - brings its own immeasurable reward. Websites: https://www.thefedoragroup.com/spotlight-on/ |
Miss You Love You Wash Your Hands
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Project Description:
"Miss You Love You Wash Your Hands" or MYLYWYH, started with a request on social media to friends to share a song that always cheers them up and they would like to share. I then linked each song to a unique QR code and printed a series of these codes with the project's title on plain white copy paper. I placed these signs along public paths and sidewalks around town with wheat paste so that folks out for a socially distanced walk, run, or bike ride would find them, scan the QR code and get a little pick-me-up in the form of a song. It is social engagement for the socially distant, and a simple reminder that you are missed and loved, and that the people who miss and love you want to keep you safe. Project Location: Public walking / biking paths in Davis, CA, Woodland, CA, Lexington and Louisville, KY, Portland, OR, NYC... Project Team: Kyle Monhollen. Thanks to Amy George, Rachel Hartsough and Jillian Corr for helping support and spread the message. Lessons Learned: Make more wheat paste than you think you need, and keep it in a container with a lid. Website: https://www.facebook.com/mylywyh |
Press Play
Image Credit: Katie Crane
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Project Description:
Press Play, a site-responsive digital exhibition of video and audio artworks hosted by the Tarble Arts Center at Eastern Illinois University. Groves of trees, architecture, words, music, movement, and art play together, offering reflections on our sense of place in relation to both built environments and the natural world. We recognize and honor the land upon which we gather to share these works as part of the traditional territory of Native American peoples: the Peewaareews (Peoria), Kaahkaahkia (Kaskaskia), Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw), Waayaahtanwa (Wea), Myaamiaki (Miami), Mascoutin, Odawa (Ottawa), Othâkîwa (Sauk), Meshkwahkihaki (Mesquaki), Kiwikapawa (Kickapoo), Bodéwadmi (Potawatomi), Anishinaabe (Ojibwa), Mamaceqtaw (Menomonee), and Hoocąk-waaziija-hači (Winnebago) peoples. Telling the stories of first peoples is an obligation the present owes to both the past and the future. We further wish to acknowledge the land’s sustained historical stewardship by indigenous peoples across North America and their ongoing struggles against injustice and oppression. QR codes and a call-in phone number (217) 581-6083 are situated throughout the Tarble’s outdoor grounds, inviting those passing through to use their phones and/or smart devices to experience works contributed by artists, poets, dancers, musicians, healers, writers, and creative voices. This exhibition offers the opportunity to encounter art in an open-air, contactless environment. All faculty, staff, students, and guests on campus must wear appropriate face masks. Location: Eastern Illinois University campus. Project Team: Calvin Arsenia, Zlatko Ćosić and Brad Decker, Addoley Dzegede, José Faus, Jana Harper, Megan Kaminski, Marie Bannerot McInerney, Kyle Mullins, and RAFAELLA. Project Partners: Jennifer Baker, Mike Schuetz, Kaen Henry, and Louise Forster Website: https://pressplay.tarbleartscenter.org/ |
Pandemic Lost and Found Hotline
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Project Description: The Pandemic Lost and Found Hotline is a collaborative art project to inspire self reflection and connection during this period of physical isolation through simple yet meaningful ways. The project aims to validate, bear witness to and normalize grief, while documenting this unusual time in our history. Participants are asked to respond to the question: What have you lost during the pandemic? What have you found? And submit their answers via leaving a voicemail on the hotline (323) 388-3701 or submitting their lost and found flier to the website (https://www.communitylostandfound.org/). Audio submissions are displayed on the website and over Instagram, and fliers are additionally distributed internationally across telephone poles. Project Location: Everywhere! Not site specific. Project Team: Emma Thorne-Christy, Gabe Sena Website: www.communitylostandfound.org |
History At Heart
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Project Description: History at Heart Our goal was to help community find human connection in a safe, accessible, and tactile way. We developed an outdoor, participatory installation where visitors wrote a message on a wooden heart, and then tied it to a chain-link fence, adding to the growing collage of hearts and stories. Evidently, people were eager to share, as the installations filled up very quickly. After all the hearts were used up, visitors continued to linger at the installation, reading the messages, showing that this interaction was just as important as leaving their own mark. The quick success of History at Heart showed us a lot about the possibilities for this type of rapid-response, low-budget exhibit. Despite our limitations due to COVID-19, History at Heart has given MNHS a way to reach communities where they are, and safely offer them a space to reflect and heal. Project Location: Chain link fence located in many places around the state of Minnesota. Project Team: Jeni O’Malley, exhibit designer Maggie Schmidt, exhibit developer Ami Naff, exhibit researcher Emily Marti, graphics designer Lisa Friedlander, project specialist Kelsi Sharp (not MNHS staff), fabricator Hannah Novillo Erickson, 3D objects associate curator Rebecca Gillette, community programs Danielle Dart, public programs specialist Andrea Reed, senior digital media manager Lessons Learned: We learned that in times of great upheaval and uncertainty, it can be more powerful to create something timely and responsive, even if that means letting go of some of our usual standards of polish and perfection. People want to talk about their place in history, and it is very meaningful to them when we offer space to do that. Successful exhibits can be created even with fewer resources at hand, and even if they do not foreground interpreting historical narratives. We learned that translating all signage into multiple languages is a meaningful way to signal our commitment to access and inclusivity. The logistics of contracting translators and working translated text into design is significant and requires a fair amount of planning. We learned that people are still very eager to engage in physical space. |
Museum of the Hidden City
Neighborhood Curbside Canvas Project
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Project Description: The Neighborhood Curbside Canvas Project is a volunteer grassroots effort, uniting local artists with struggling New York City restaurants to transform pop-up dining patios into street art, for the purposes of driving greater interest, energy and business back into our COVID-coping neighborhoods. Project Location: New York City (Tribeca and Park Slope) Project Team: ARTISTS: Ford Crull, Paul Staff, Nicole Stankus, Tato, Mary Jaeger, Jae Melo, Emily Dyrek, Sean Slaney, Alexandra Alvarez, Yasmine Porath, Void People, Pamela Moineau, Shahnaz Rahman, Susie Carter, Ji Na Kakana, Kati Vilim, Diana Benigno, Natalie Minyu Li, Avani Khorana, Lianna Oestricher, Marzipan Physics RESTAURANTS: The Dark Horse, Reade Street Pub, Greenwich Street Tavern, Weather Up, Marc Forgione, Tiny's, Square Diner, American Whisky, Homemade By, Miriam, 1803, Two Hands, Khe-Yo, Benares, Bubby's Lessons Learned: Simply be genuine about your intent. Tell people you are NOT selling anything. CONNECT, CONNECT, CONNECT -- involve EVERYONE you know and can think of and ask them to do the same on behalf of your mission. https://www.curbsidecanvas.com/ |
Exploratorium: Experiments In Noticing and Understanding
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Project Description: Twenty interactive exhibits were designed to help visitors notice and investigate subtle phenomena and forces at play in this outdoor environment. The exhibits call attention to the complex movement of wind and waves; the interplay of light, shadow, and temperature; and the interaction between natural and built environments. They make use of everyday structures as observational instruments and give a voice to the landscape. Installed from 2009 - 2015. Project Location: Fort Mason (National Park) San Francisco Created by: Exploratoriums - Studio For Public Spaces https://www.exploratorium.edu/publicspaces/projects/fort-mason |
Tree Stories
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Project Description: Tree Stories This temporary installation is a memorial to a street tree taken down by the city at the end of its life. Urban street trees perform many valuable services in cities: the provide oxygen, cool the neighborhood, and provide a habitat for hundreds of critters. The exhibit is part memorial for a grand century old tree, part prompt to see the stories in the objects in your neighborhood. The "leaves" on this exhibit tree each tell a story and offer a link to a related video or website. Project Location: Worcester, MA, USA on the mulched remnants of a 100-year-old silver maple tree Project Team: Betsy Loring Sophie Matyas, Illustrator Hat tip to Emma Thorne-Christy, whose Pandemic Lost & Found Hotline project inspired this project about the loss of a tree. Lessons Learned: Zip ties and yard signs are cheap and can carry you far. Don't worry too much about aesthetics! There are an endless supply of stories to tell. It can be fun to give the neighborhood an Easter egg, just for the heck of it. QR codes maybe dated and ugly, but they can deliver a video of baby raccoons - or a story about climate change and environmental justice. |
Don't Forget to Look Down
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Project Description: Don't Forget To Look Down turns the grains of sand beneath our feet into a fantastical exhibit filled with wonders. By pleasantly interrupting a beach goer's environment in a few different ways. Don't Forget to Look Down reminds the viewer to notice what normally goes unseen - and of course, to always be curious about the world around them! Project Location: Beaches of Savannah, Georgia (Tybee); also possibly Ft. Lauderdale beaches Project Team: Hopefully there will be more people involved soon, but for now it's just me (Gaby J). Even though it's just the beginning, I would love to thank Michael Burns for inspiring me to do this, for giving me his invaluable feedback, and for being so open-minded! I would also love to thank Álvaro Amat of the Field Museum for being the springboard into the industry of my dreams, for taking a chance on me and for introducing me to Michael! Without them, I would still be a clueless university student with no idea who to talk to. Thanks guys! Lessons learned: I was inspired after a conversation with Michael (an FTM founder); he told me about projects that interrupted people's environments and changed their perception of their world. Ever since that day, I had been thinking about how I can turn a topic I'm passionate about (beaches on my hometown coast of Ft. Lauderdale) into something world-altering. While working as an intern for the Field Museum, I conceptualized DFTLD as a way to bring attention to the foundation of Floridian culture; for, what would beaches be without sand? What would sand be without quartz and ground up shell pieces? There is so much to be learned about the creatures that contribute to sand and what makes up a beach's atmosphere, so my goal is to change the public's perception of sand and shells from bothersome or boring to fascinating and essential! As far as snags, I didn't experience many yet. This project is still in its early phases, and the idea hit me like a bag of bricks. I will hopefully be able to build a full-scale model soon, as this may be my senior project at my university. |
Free and Equal
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Project Description: Free and Equal is a driving tour / podcast / augmented reality (AR) experience near Beaufort, SC that explores the unique Civil War history in the region. In 1861, Union Troops captured the Sea Islands, white plantation owners fled, and overnight thousands of slaves were freed. The tour will look at how African Americans worked this freedom out as they joined the army, purchased land, and developed a relatively independent society. As participants drive around, they will hear about historical and current stories that explore what freedom really means. There will be points along the tour to get out, walk around, and engage with historical photos and documents via AR. Music and genealogical investigation will also be featured in the storytelling. Project Launch: Early 2021 Project Location: Sea Islands, South Carolina Project Team: National Endowment for the Humanities National Park Service Rose Ylimaki (University of South Carolina) Michael Epstein (Walking Cinema) https://www.postandcourier.com/business/grant-to-change-how-visitors-experience-sc-s-reconstruction-history/article_6d8bdcb4-8b9f-11e9-b5f0-8710e64fe793.html |
More projects coming soon.
