THE PROBLEM
The Pandemic has meant little or no human interaction for the 28% of Americans who live alone. Professionals have urged policymakers in France, where the Pandemic’s effect on mental health has made headlines, to consider reopening schools to tackle loneliness. As the level of social anxiety rises, we start missing simple but important things: love, kindness and tolerance, this is a reminder to all of us of what being a human is. It’s about us being able to deal with the current world’s most significant problem with love and sympathy together.
THE FOCUS
Much of the effort put into addressing the issues of pandemic social life has gone into keeping individuals connected to their families and closest friends. The Pandemic has wiped off entire categories of friendship, depleting the delights that make up a human life in the process. Creating meaningful social connections within our communities is more important than ever as we are emerging out of a tough year of social inaction. As the level of social anxiety rises, we start missing simple but important things: love, kindness and tolerance, this is a reminder to all of us of what being a human is. It’s about us being able to deal with the current world’s most significant problem with love and sympathy together.
How can the activation of public space through participatory installations encourage meaningful reconnection and engagement? Interactions with others outside the home have been highly restricted for anyone, regardless of their living environment (Holt-Lunstad, 2020). Our lives have drifted away from the places where these kinds of meetings occur during the last year. The subways were nearly empty. Coffee shops had posted a sign saying that “lingering” was not permitted. There were dividers between tables and lines that snaked around the block, ensuring that the front and back of the building were never seen. All of the regulations would have been broken if I had run into someone. We find ourselves living in a situation where all the facilities that make dense urban living “healthy”—are either shuttered or paranoia-inducing, the temptation to visit them balanced by the threat of exposure to the virus.
Preserving and making accessible the stories that shape our history so that people today, along with future generations, can better understand our world and each other. The act of telling a story is an integral part of the human process of coping. Participatory art, I believe, may play a significant role in assisting us in making sense of the beauty and tragedy of life with those around us.
Interact with the questions. Share your story.
Engage with the installation and collaborate with strangers.
Reflect on shared experiences by your neighbor and community while using the installation as a place to sit, co-work, and have a conversation over coffee.
Create a repository of community stories. Your stories behave as a mosaic creating a larger art piece for your neighborhood.
Asking the correct questions to evoke a particular emotion. This should encourage sharing stories + reflections.
A tool that is preserving and making accessible the stories that shape our history so that people today, along with future generations, can better understand our world and each other. People begin to understand each other better as they exchange knowledge and build connections through playful interactions. This is designed to be a flat packed system that can be put together in under an hour without the need of any power tools. This is achieved by interlocking joinery. The kit is designed in a way where it takes minimal space, allowing it to be flexible in any setting, from a cul-de-sac to an office library.
IMAGINING THE KIT AROUND THE WORLD
