Work in Progress in the Social Studies (WIPSS): 2016/7
Thursday 24 November
Narrative Environments in Creative Communities
Next week WIPSS will be holding the third seminar of our 20th anniversary year. Annemarie Mayo and Bethany Shepherd will be giving a joint paper entitled Narrative Environments in Creative Communities at the Faculty of Education Boardroom. Annemarie and Bethany write:
‘The MA Narrative Environments course, within the Spatial Practices programme at Central Saint Martins, pioneers collaboration among architects, designers, artists, curators and other practitioners. Students often work on live projects in multidisciplinary teams to create experiences for urban and community environments, as well as many other spaces. A broad understanding of story, location, and the expectations of clients, visitors and residents, drives novel, multisensory, user-centred and user-driven proposals.
In this paper we introduce a small sample of such live projects with agency, and where students engaged creatively with the city. The first two projects are with Camden Council – students were asked to foster a sense of community, with opportunities for further discourse, within two very different scenarios. Firstly to create places for exchange in a co‐working environment. And secondly to integrate Camden Youth Centres with Camden Youth Services, balancing the needs and expectations of familiar and new users. The third project discussed is with Google UK, where students created an installation to bring a convivial atmosphere to a temporary space. The final project is a research and prototyping workshop, to enable creative collaboration between student groups using analysis of embedded narratives to inspire potential futures for a space.
We discuss various approaches used in the projects, such as action and social research; consider some of the ways these projects applied narrative to environments; and further, propose that the processes of the creation of narrative environments can open up the space for exciting creative collaboration between designers, clients and participants.’
Annemarie Mayo is a detail-oriented architect whose art, design & music background has given her a unique multidisciplinary outlook. She has collaborated with the Red Dot in Germany to research new living trends. At DeMicoli & Associates, Malta, she worked on the adaptive reuse of the historic Fort St Elmo. Continuously on the search for new storytelling outlets; she is the originator, lead songwriter and animator for the cartoon band The Kite Project.
Annemarie is now reading for a Masters degree in the MA Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins, London. She thrives on collaboration, and uses creative analysis to absorb and assimilate influences from a variety of sources, stretching the scope of narrative environments in order to propose new ideas.
Bethany Shepherd is a designer and educator working with stories and space. She teaches on the MA Narrative Environments course in the Spatial Practices programme at Central Saint Martins, London. She has over ten years design experience spanning exhibition design, urban interventions, city narratives, information design, wayfinding, service design and brand experience. She is passionate about socially engaged design practice and empowering audiences through collaboration. She is currently running a live student project designing an urban intervention for Milan Design Festival and working on new museum audience experiences for the V&A Museum, London.’
Thursday 24 November, 1800-1900hrs, followed by discussion in the Faculty of Education Boardroom on the third floor of Old Humanities Building. The stairs are near HSBC bank on campus. Students are encouraged to attend. The public is cordially welcome.