Brainstorming Results from 01/11/11 -
BIG QUESTIONS
how do we get people to engage with each other, not just with objects?
how do we get people to come in & engage?
how do we keep barriers low with provocative ideas?
if we do any outside stuff, we need a weather strategy
1) Big Idea: Engage teams of visitors with the exhibit by sending them to find images of the art elsewhere - maybe in the Henry, maybe around campus.
This could be very structured, like a scavenger hunt, or more happenstance; use some kind of provocative image/object to add a little extra excitement. Visitors could bring the images back to the gallery? – ORRR take a photo of the "found" location showing two team members (requiring interaction!) with the image (& leave it there). Some kind of goofy prize & a team element – everyone loves competition! Locations could have some exhibit- or art-related meaning; images are similarly meaningful; connections with people who’ll let us hide images in there space are meaningful for the Henry, too. This feels like a way of making the "DIG” idea/Henry collections access move offline.
- Visitors will form teams & seek, send/retrieve images from the exhibit.
- Visitors will report increased appreciation for Vortexhibiton/the Henry collection/whatever works get used in the project.
- Visitors who complete the activity will make at least one return visit to the exhibit: once to start the activity, once to complete it/retrieve their "prize."
2) Big Idea: Dress-up for adults.
Either visitors themselves, or paper dolls, get dressed up in assorted items (images of Henry costume collection items? Real clothing that echoes collection items?). Inspired by the aprons/Cindy Sherman photo in the exhibit. Is there a way we can use the tech lounge green screen to create backdrops/etc. that align with a series of different artworks/collection items? We'll want to make sure to select works (as backdrops and to dress up with) that allow for multiple participants/building narratives.
Dressing people up in aprons or other stuff to interrogate/poke fun at clichés, stereotypes; visitors can take a picture (and send it to people? to Hankblog?). Big challenge: how do we lower the social barriers to doing this with "real" dress-up? Dolls or images are a tangible take-away for visitor, making connections to the exhibit/collection. A marketing idea, too: print a paper doll off Hankblog – take it to the exhibit & dress it up, take pictures of your doll with art (either in gallery or outside) - ORRR - the paper doll as an invitation to play real dress-up?
- Visitors will report having fun.
- Visitors will create scenes/characters/narratives that echo themes from the exhibition.
- Visitors will share the results of their participation with audiences beyond the gallery.
3) Big Idea: Visitors “airing their dirty laundry” by posting items on a clothesline that travels between the gallery and the skybridge outside.
This one's inspired by the aprons in the exhibit: participants can post secrets, rants, objects, images, etc. that cycle into & out of gallery through window (MAYBE – depends on logistics; could also move between the gallery & walkway above). This element would connect gallery visitors to the high-traffic space outside (& vice versa). Participants (or a facilitator) would pull their secrets/etc. up & out the window for others to see AND down into gallery where they’re exhibited (driving people inside). This one requires some logistical work: can we use an actual clothesline rigged up, or something else metaphorical/cheap/weather-safe? does that window even open? The act of sharing/exhibiting from outside as an incentive to get people (esp. students) inside, maybe offer a pass to non-students who participate so they can see their work? Flexibility of how to engage with this element: you can "air" your view, you can write/hide it, you can participate later too, by adding Henry’s campus box OR website OR whatever on reverse of cards.
- Visitors will both contribute and read one another's additions to the "airing."
- Visitors will be inspired to enter the exhibit by participating outside (and vice versa).
- Visitors' contributions will echo themes from the exhibit: suspension (physical & metaphorical), surprises, mixed messages.
4) Big Idea: An homage to the confessional booth installation Amanda mentioned.
Invite visitors to tell us what object they hate/don't understand/etc. (potentially "unacceptable" opinions), by talking to us through a screen. Alternately, some kind of unfacilitated version of this: invite people to tell (someone? a stranger? one another) something they’ve never told before... these prompts could be object-focused, secret- or other-random-fact-focused, etc., etc.
- Visitors will share opinions that surprise us (if facilitated), or maybe that contradict the curatorial narrative.
- Visitors will report using the "confessional" space; they may or many not report what they shared inside when prompted.
- Visitors will articulate some opinion about one or more works (if facilitated).
- Visitors will encourage one another to visit the booth and/or report positive reactions to its presence.
5) Big Idea: Set up a real-life "chat room" for visitors in the Panoptos salon space.
Curators were excited to get visitors to chat online, but they don't. Instead, have visitors identify/mark themselves as part of a live “chat room” (in salon space, others can look down onto it…). Perhaps markers are something like colored or coded name tags that highlight accessible, non-art interests or topics (maybe? or maybe images of works in the show?). Visitors can find others to talk with based on that marker of their interests, with a built-in conversation starter. (Maybe also offer some kinds of conversation prompts, or "chat room rules," whether genuine or arbitrary/silly ones?)
- Visitors will engage in conversation with one another in the salon space.
- Visitors who converse will show increased hold time in the salon space over other/baseline visitors.
- Visitors will attend to the art (and/or one another) with observable behavior (i.e. pointing, laughing, talking, moving back & forth between Panoptos salon space & gallery space)
SECONDARY component for any ideas: advertise (cards w/passes? something else?) a hashtag/place to text updates to from inside the gallery, to capture images/thoughts/level of traffic/etc.
Comments (15)
rosepk@uw.ed said
at 10:39 pm on Jan 12, 2011
I know this doesn't contribute much, but I LOVE the ideas around "dress up for adults"! Has anyone figured out the Henry's photo policy?
Amanda Mae said
at 12:30 am on Jan 14, 2011
The policy is: Installation shots are allowed within Polyphonica, meaning NO close ups of singular art works, and NO flash. Also these images taken are for personal use only...the museum has copyright liability here. So the policy is YES, but with limitations. I hope this makes sense, let me know if you have a specific scenario you need to run by "legal".
Chris Cadenhead said
at 9:45 am on Jan 13, 2011
The SAAM used to have kimonos that "kids" could put on and practice tying (you needed two people to get the belt part right). I can't confirm or deny that I participated in such frivolity, but it was definitely a happenin corner of the gallery.
rosepk@uw.ed said
at 8:41 am on Jan 14, 2011
Thanks Amanda!
Tasia said
at 6:14 pm on Jan 15, 2011
I like the dress up idea too! Is there a way to use the pictures to promote conversation? Maybe they could take polaroids and then post the picture on the wall explaining why they created that scene...or this could be done virtually on flickr, but it might be cool if a computer with the flickr pictures is available in the gallery with this activity so they will be more likely to participate in the conversation part, or for people to who may not want to dress up but still can participate.
Marina said
at 9:21 pm on Jan 16, 2011
I am intrigued by the live chat room idea. It sound a lot like the Human Library project, which I haven't actually experienced, but I think sounds awesome. I am wondering how much facilitation would be necessary to get people to feel comfortable to do this. The Human Library seems to have some facilitation with the use of an actual librarian--maybe this is adaptable to your idea? I really like the coded name tags idea, but I wonder if the salon space will feel a little bit too exposed for more intimate conversation. Could the tech lounge be a more inviting venue?
Abbi Huderle said
at 12:47 am on Jan 17, 2011
I kind of like the "airing dirty laundry" idea - but I'm pretty sure those windows do not open. I do wish there was some way to incorporate the long stairs to the back of the exhibit though; I walked down them to see the new install on Friday and the amount of wasted space there bothered me. OOH! Idea! What if there was some sort of string or something leading peoples' eyes in that direction, to get them to use those stairs, and then you could hang the dirty laundry (you could literally make the pieces of paper for them to write on in the shapes of aprons, shirts, pants, whatever) on clotheslines up and down either sidewall of the steps? I don't know if that's totally dorky or not, or where you would have people actually do the writing, but I think it sounds kind of fun! Maybe the items don't cycle, they're just hung there for people to see. I like the cycle idea, just because it'd grab peoples' attention, but I'm not sure logistically how you would get it to work. I feel like you'd need a motor, which might be a problem budget-wise.
Alicia said
at 9:42 am on Jan 17, 2011
I like the idea of airing dirty laundry. I think that will naturally draw attention, discussion and participation. It would be interesting if you could get the line to move around but I think if it is strung throughout the gallery (and I like the idea of using the back staircase too) then part of the excitement will be seeing what else is on the line around the corner. It would definitely draw people into and around the space, though hopefully not be so distracting as to prevent them from seeing or doing anything else! I've also been trying to figure out where and how people would write on their little papers, since they can't use pen or marker - what if someone found an old typewriter? You could have each sheet of typewriter paper with an outline (or two) of clothing and people could type within the outline, then cut it out to hang it. That might add too much complication but it would get around the no pen policy.
emily.c.craig@... said
at 9:55 am on Jan 17, 2011
I really like the airing of dirty laundry idea. I think it would encourage engagement with the exhibit as well as with other visitors. I wonder if you could use colored pencils instead of regular pencils (I believe at least some brands have erasers), so that it would add a little more interest (I'm imagining some sort of angry rant written in red colored pencil.) I agree with Abbi that the dirty laundry might not have the move through the space - the visual connection of the clothes line would draw visitors attention and I also like Alicia's idea of stringing the line throughout the gallery to draw visitors in. Maybe there is a way to do that while incorporating the back staircase which is largely dead space right now? I think it would be very interesting to see what visitors would add to the line, but maybe provide an explanation somewhere so there is a little bit of guidance? Rants are pretty easy to come up with in the absence of lead time, but to get other responses, I think some sort of structure would be important.
I also really like the dress up idea. EMP did this in last year's Taking Aim exhibit and I know they had a lot of response to it from both children and adults. I love the idea of cliched themes and if it is possible to use the tech lounge, I think that is a great space for it, especially since there isn't a really good place to put that in the gallery. My only concern there is that you would have to find a way to drive visitors into that space. Maybe a pathway of Polaroids leading from the gallery to the tech lounge? I think even if the outfits weren't uploaded to Flickr, a polaroid gallery would draw people in.
Rachel said
at 10:20 am on Jan 17, 2011
One thing that comes to my mind--especially under the umbrella of perhaps exploring stereotypes through dress--is combining the dress-up with the dirty laundry, by being able to write commentary, &c. either on the back of the photos (which could then rotate through or be hung on the clothesline--I really like that idea too--rather than being static on the board), or using the paper doll idea, on the back of the dolls themselves.
Rachel said
at 4:42 pm on Jan 17, 2011
Another riff on real-life dress up--I think a part of lowering the barrier to participation would be creating a space where visitors don't feel immediately conspicuous/on display in dressing up; it seems like the gallery space maybe isn't naturally hospitable to this, and would require some careful planning. I could also see this activity being combined with the "take a photo of yourself in a scene" possibility mentioned on the Team TBD page surrounding Xavier, though maybe that would make the whole thing too complicated...
Abbi Huderle said
at 3:45 pm on Jan 18, 2011
The only problem there might be with combining the photos and dirty laundry is the loss of anonymity - if people are sharing secrets and things or whatever they're writing down, I feel like anonymity is the key to feeling free to share that kind of information. Just a thought.
youngsre said
at 5:33 pm on Jan 18, 2011
Notes from conference call 01.18.11
Looking at the inside/outside, both as a way to drive traffic AND an element in & of itself. If we get people wanting to come inside/do more/do something, then WHAT?
Something with people broadcasting their inner thoughts: printing their secrets on to an apron (or something?)
Inside activity, outside activity, or both? What's the connection to draw from one to the other?
Developing things to prototype: the prompts, the instructions, the participant activity.
Next meeting: Thursday @ 8:00 PM - upload ideas to the google doc before the meeting: activities & various iterations of how to make them happen, connecting themes, what might drive traffic from one to the other, look & feel stuff, etc.
Go team!
youngsre said
at 5:38 pm on Jan 18, 2011
(More notes, as I'm thinking more..)
This will maybe be some combo of the dirty laundry & other secret-telling activities.
Connections to exhibit may not be states themes (the 3 f's), but rather the big ideas Sara talked about from a curatorial POV: the response, reaction, rejection, building, etc, etc.
Amanda, will you link the google doc to our project page when you make it?
rosepk@uw.ed said
at 8:34 am on Jan 19, 2011
One part of the activity could be done outside and completed inside (or vice-versa)
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