To Be Another

Project Leads: Aran Dasan and Chris Natt

Number of participants: 21

Duration: 5 days

Project Outline:How should the stories of individuals and communities facing humanitarian challenges be told? Artists and designers are often put in the position of storytellers, but how can their narratives foster meaningful dialog which goes beyond the headlines?In this AcrossRCA projects, participants will be challenged to construct narratives to connect an exhibition audience to a very real scenario:  that of landmine victims and their care teams in Cambodia.  A contemporary archive of raw media (photography, 360 images, film, interview transcripts), artefacts and first-hand accounts of field researchers will provide a window in to this world.Participants are encouraged to use any digital or physical mediums of their choice, to bring a critical eye to established storytelling media, and explore new storytelling techniques.The project and its participants aim to explore:+ what is ‘ultimate empathy’ in an exhibition environment?+ how do we create a meaningful appreciation for the complexities behind the headlines?+ what role can new mediums take in immersive story telling?+ what are the ethical considerations for storytelling?Selected outputs from the project will be included in an exhibition proposal for the Bioengineering Department at Imperial College.

Timetable:

Day 1
Welcome and introductions
Workshop – developing narratives for exhibitions
Talk – Subject area introduction  (hands on session with artefacts and media)

Day 2
Concept generation
Presentation and discussion of ideas
Talk by guest speakers

Day 3
Discussion on the empathy and ethics
Collaborative or individual design and prototyping
Group tutorials

Day 4
Collaborative or individual design and prototyping
End of day: presentation on the current status of the projects

Day 5
Collaborative or individual design and prototyping
Final presentation and pop ‘prototype’ exhibition