Thu Aug 19, 2010
Art, Research, and Communication at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo:
The 2010 Shanghai World Expo hosts nearly 200 countries within a 5.28
square kilometer area and is officially recognized as the largest in
the 159 year history of World Expositions. Many of the participating
countries have created temporary multi-million dollar pavilions to
address the theme “Better City, Better Life,” and 70 million visitors
from around the world are anticipated to attend between May1st and
October 31st.
People In Space is a project organized by
American artists from Boston, Massachusetts that utilizes the context of
the Shanghai Expo as a platform for contemporary art, research, and
communication. We see an opportunity to learn from and contribute to
this unique event by actively engaging with both the people and spaces
that define it. We hope that this project will act as a useful artistic
survey of one of the most compelling reoccurring events in history.
Considering the complexity and scale of the Expo we have chosen to
remain flexible with our efforts in order to take advantage of
unanticipated opportunities and situations that arise.
Art:
Approximately
375,000 people attend the Expo each day in order to enter popular
pavilions. Many of these visitors will have spent over 10 hours waiting
in lines consisting of thousands of people. With these conditions in
mind People In Space has sent out an international call for proposals
inviting creative thinkers to submit ideas for actions that engage
waiting visitors in unexpected ways.
We evaluate the proposed
actions based on three categories: utilization of the lines, simplicity
of design, and strength of concept as it relates to the context of the
Expo and its themes. Proposals that are selected will be performed by a
team of expert practitioners in and through the lines present at the
pavilions. They come up with the actions and we implement them as their
surrogate.
In addition to the projects in lines the People in Space
artists on the ground at the Expo will utilize unforeseen contexts as
platforms for further artistic actions. Currently, this project is an
unofficial part of the Expo. We will remain flexible and diplomatic in
how, where, and what we create there.
Research:
Our
research is intended to provide basic information about the context of
the Expo in order to support our art and communication. We have selected
three main questions to explore through interviews, direct
observations, and the collection of materials available online. Using
these questions as a starting point to engage visitors, volunteers and
organizers we intend to gain insight into the myriad topics associated
with the Expo.
What motivates people to attend? What inspires
individuals, organizations and nations to participate and attend this
Expo? What did they imagine it would be like? How did their imagination
of the expo change once they arrived?
How has the Expo
organized people and space? How does a country get to host and
participate in an Expo? How is the Expo managed and administered? How
was the overall layout of the Expo determined? How does the architecture
affect the space? Were there any criteria for the sustainability and
design of the Expo site and pavilions?
What is the most
compelling content at the Expo? How are participants and attendees
interpreting the Theme “Better City, Better Life?” What ideas, products,
and pavilions are getting the most attention? What seems missing?
Communication
The
relationships and conversations that we establish and grow throughout
this project are germane to our artistic efforts. Through our work in
Shanghai and at the Expo we will meet, converse, and share our project
with residence, visitors, volunteers, and organizers. The insights from
our art, conversations, and research will in turn be shared with a
general audience online as well as the community of artists and
organizations we represent from Boston. Starting from this point we hope
to reach out to a more diverse audience and start dialogues with people
and organizations from a range of fields.
World Expositions do
not received the popular attention and coverage that events like the
Olympics do. As a result both American and other international audiences
know little or nothing about these events despite their rich history as
reoccurring international venues for invention, innovation, art, and
culture. The organizers of People In Space recognize the potential in
the form and scope of World Expo’s, as a whole, and specifically as a
platform for contemporary art. We hope that through this project we can
share our own excitement, and inspire creative thinkers from the U.S.
and abroad to imagine how we can contribute to the form and content
of this years Expo and Expo’s to come.
The process and results from People in Space will
be presented through an exhibition of video, photography, writing and
installation at the Mobius gallery in Boston, MA, USA from October 8th -
13th. Ongoing documentation and blogging for this project will also be
present online at: www.BerwickInstitute.org, www.Mobius.org, www.thepresenttense.org
