ADVERT FOR WEBSITE DESIGNER

Advert for Website Designer

What we need

Accidental Collective is looking for a Website Designer based in East Kent to design and build an innovative, exciting and interactive website for the company’s new performance project, i am small THE WORLD IS BIG.

This is an excellent opportunity for a budding or experienced web designer to develop their skills and creativity and to collaborate on a truly exciting project. The website will be at the very heart of the project and will provide a great platform for a designer. Although we do not have a large budget, there is a small fee attached to this position, which can be discussed on application.

The website should

1. aesthetically reflect the project’s themes
2. appear inviting and user-friendly for audience and participants (aged 9-90!)
3. be interactive (different communities should be able to reflect on their
experiences and connect with each other via message boards, uploading photos etc)
4. allow for the company to easily update the content

Who are we?

We are Accidental Collective, an experimental theatre and live art company, based in Canterbury. We produce performance, live events and installations that act as provocations and aim to intervene in the everyday. Over the last four years, we have been funded by Canterbury City Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Kent County Council, Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund.
For more information go to http://www.accidentalcollective.co.uk/


What is the project?

i am small THE WORLD IS BIG is a Kent-wide, multifaceted, participatory live art performance, funded by Kent County Council. It aims to positively connect communities across Kent through creative action and question the gaps between the individual, the local and the international. The project will begin with a series of workshops with a selection of diverse groups and communities from across Kent. In these workshops, these groups and communities will stitch together paper fragments of countries and regions cut out of atlases, thereby creating a section of a new version of the World. In a final celebratory event, each group’s section of the new World will be stitched together to form a whole.

If you would like to see trailers of a work-in-progress version of i am small THE WORLD IS BIG, please visit the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4LbTD7zNL0&feature=related (Day 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUYbwK5ygjk (Day 2)


The project is running from November 2010 through to May 2011 and as such the web designer would need to be available to update the website at key stages during this time.

To apply, please email iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.uk, stating your interest and a little bit about yourself. The closing date for emailing is Friday 12th November at 5 pm. If you have any questions before applying, please email the above address or call Daisy Orton on 07793973447.

So we are back, we are landed, and we are taking stock.
We’ve had a little post-pause; pause… as it were.
I have overseen workmen coming and insulating my flat, walked around Strood on a sprained ankle, and spent time working on events production and planning with teens in Maidstone.

Pause over.
So lets reflect…
…We think we can call the weekend we spent at Derby Festé a nice, big, juicy success.

It went like this… (Excuse me while I shake my brain to make sure it comes out in the right order…)

Friday - Rick, Daisy and Laura head up to Derby with 4 large wheeled suitcases, 1 box of flat-pack shelving, two large holdalls and an umbrella.

Saturday - Two gazebos, deep pink in colour and carpeted inside, are erected on Market Place opposite an enormous green blow up slide featuring The Hulk and charging £1.50 for 5 goes. (Apparently 27 makes you too old to have a go)
5 jars in each gazebo
1 bookcase in each gazebo,
2 chairs in each gazebo,
1 rug in each gazebo,
1 performer in each gazebo…
11 o’clock rolls around and it begins:
In couples and alone people start to book in and fill up our 5 minute sessions up.
Allowing for 12 sessions an hour (6 apiece for the 2 performers) bookings overtake walk-ins very quickly… we were kind of anticipating a warm up period, maybe some dips and lulls in audience attendance throughout the day… Nope…
In fact, so popular did Audio Treatment, Complimentary Therapy, Burden loss Treatment, Transportative therapy and Achievement treatment appear to be… that we stayed open for nearly an extra hour at the end of the day.
I’d call that successful.

Sunday - More of the same… though this time in the pleasant park land in front of Derby Cathedral… fittingly named Cathedral Green.
Oh, and for 2 hours less into the evening. We had to pack up the various cases, bags, boxes and brollies and hot foot it to the train station for the trawl home.

In all we saw 170 people, giving away as many happy endings. Our hands were feeling a bit drunk from all the alcohol-based antiseptic hand wash, our eyes needed some time to adjust to a world that was not pink. We turned away nearly 150 people as we just couldn’t fit them in… next time it’ll be 3 gazebos…

BUT…..
Lists and flippant descriptions aside though, that’s only half the story.
Statistics, timings, bookings, gazebos, rugs and jars…
There’s some video to be posted on good ol’ YouTube and we’ll keep you posted on its posting… as it were…

In the mean time, I have yen to explain how magical, sweet, bizarre and soothing the whole experience was…

During a ’group session’ of Complimentary Therapy I saw an 8 year old boy burst into tears when his Dad paid him the compliment that “I really love spending time with you and love how great it feels to be with you…”
This was not about exploitation, nor was it about encouraging big emotive gestures (though it did not actively discourage them either). This was about offering clients a chance to remember how it feels to hear nice things said to them. This was about offering a client a chance to remember how it feels to say nice things about someone close to them.
“I love the backs of you knees..” (giggles from both)
“I love that you make me try new things”
“I like your domestic pottering, cos I like domestic pottering too”

As with happy endings, a compliment for one person can mean nothing to another.

Watching people smile as their burdens were swallowed up and taken away was warming. I never knew what people wrote on their little slip of paper. The paper had a line, a word, an image that summed up their burden, the one they wanted to be rid of. This was burden loss…
Watching someone go from concentration on their most burdensome of burdens to a smile, a giggle, a full on laugh… seeing how somebody, everybody, changes they way they sit, move, emote once they have laughed or smiled. That’s a nice thing to witness.
This was probably, and maybe unsurprisingly, the most popular of treatments. By the end of the weekend I almost felt I owed those clients something. A thank you for sharing that moment with me.

I don’t really want to talk through all the therapies here. I need to balance my literary drive with theatrical mystique and avoid further descriptions…

I will say though, that simply sitting in a tent with a person, sharing a lose proximity, even for 5 minutes, seems to offer surprises and shocks and even those dangerous warm fuzzy feelings we’ve mostly learnt to be suspicious of… maybe it was the pinkness of it all…

R

pause; (in rehearsal)

Earlier this evening we had a major rehearsal for pause; (yes, that's right, the semicolon is part of the title).

As you might already know, from looking on our newly redesigned website or because you are friends with us on Facebook, pause; is a reworked version of Present Tents (which we showed on 11th July 2010 at Lounge on the Farm Festival, as part of PANeK's Showcase at 'The Playhouse'). Present Tents took place in a small two-an tent and was a short yet intimate one-to-one encounter between a performer and an audience member. A few days after the festival we were contacted by ArtsAgenda (a production company based in Brighton), and they asked us if we wanted to show the piece at this year's Derby Festé (a festival they are programming). Of course we were ecstatic! Not only for getting a chance to perform outside the South East, but because the festival includes such established artists as Ant Hampton (Rotozaza) and Metro-Bouldot-Dodo. However, being perfectionists as we are, we were not content to present exactly the same work (in the state that it was then).

So, as I said at the beginning, we have had a major rehearsal to rework the piece. Now, I would not like to give too much away (spoiling surprises at this stage would be a shame). All I will say is that it was a long but very productive meeting. We tightened the aesthetics, we discussed and walked through the audience's experience, we developed some of the therapies/treatments we already had and devised some new ones, and we worked through our personas. If you want to find out more you will have to come to Derby on 25th and 26th September, and experience pause; yourself. Of course we are also planning to document the piece with photographs and hopefully video too, so later on this autumn/winter you should be able to see some updates on our main website.

I bought these glass jars from a corner shop near my house (it had been bought by new owners and they were refurbishing the premises). They used to contain old fashioned sweets and we liked the way they looked and felt (allowing for both associations of sweets/treats and medicine/apothecary). The jars will contain the props and objects needed for each of the therapies/treatments that will be part of pause;.

This is Laura (posing as an audience member) and Rick (as the 'trained therapist') going over the introductory exchange. It involves gentle and soothing speech, as well as antibacterial gel and a hand massage.

As our blurb for pause; says: we are looking forward to treating you.

Pablo

Introducing: Laura McGrath

Dear All,

We figured it was about time we formally introduced Laura McGrath, who will be working with us on a number of projects. Like us, Laura is a University of Kent graduate, who specialised in dramaturgy during her final year. As part of her studies, last autumn and spring, she observed and wrote about the preparation and delivery of i am small THE WORLD IS BIG (and did in fact lend more than a helping hand!). Building on the successes of this informal and initial relationship we thought that we'd ask if Laura wanted to work with us again. Thankfully she accepted! Laura will be taking a number of overlapping roles (from administration to community liaison) for the new version of i am small THE WORLD IS BIG which we are preparing for 2011 (thanks to substantial funding we have received from Kent Count Council's 'New Recipes Programme'). But don't think we are letting get off lightly... Later this month, on 25th and 26th, Laura will actually be performing alongside Rick and Daisy during pause; (Derby Festé 2010). We are also hoping that she will come on board as a dramaturg when we take everyONE's looking for someONE back into the studio this autumn. So, as you can imagine Laura is going to be one busy girl. But that's just how she likes it.

As you can see for yourselves, she is quite chirpy (and obviously has a thing for comfy, coloured jumpers and beautiful countryside). So, welcome to the team!

Summer Catch Up

Dear all,

We hope this email finds you well, and that you are having a nice summer (despite the weather).

It has been quite a long time since we have been in touch and so we thought it would be nice to send you a brief update…

i am small THE WORLD IS BIG has received substantial funding from Kent County Council through the ‘New Recipes Programme’! We will be re-creating the project on a larger and more ambitious scale than last time, contacting communities across Kent. There will also be a project-specific website and many other new exciting developments. The culminating event will take place in spring 2011. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more.
On a related matter, we have now put up the video documentation of the first version of “i am small THE WORLD IS BIG” on YouTube. Have a look!
Day 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4LbTD7zNL0
Day 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUYbwK5ygjk&feature=related

everyONE’s looking for someONE… Now if you were keeping an eye on our creative blog at the start of the summer, you will recognise this title as one of our latest creative ventures. We are still waiting to receive some pictures from the work-in-progress we presented at The Basement (Brighton). But we can say the piece was a success, both on the Brighton streets during the day and in the evening culmination. Very soon we will be going back into the studio to work on this project and make it a tourable performance. Watch this space…

We were recently approached by ArtsAgenda, a national creative producing company based in Brighton (http://www.artsagenda.co.uk/). They have programmed one of our latest works for a festival taking place in Derby this September, Derby Festé (http://www.derbyfeste.com/). We will be performing our work alongside great names like Ant Hampton (Rotozaza), and Metro-Boulot-Dodo! Our piece, formerly known as Present Tents, began live as a one-off for The Playhouse and was presented with the help of PANeK at this year’s Lounge on the Farm music festival. This intimate and quirky one-to-one experience has just been reworked and polished for Derby Festé. It also has a new title: pause; The performance will take place in Derby Market Place on from 11am till 6pm, on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th September 2010. Spread the news across the Midlands and North!

Finally, we have been rummaging through our bottom drawers and found a trailer of POSTSTRIPT (v.1) as it was performed at Canterbury Fringe Festival in October 2008. Retro! Time does fly when you are having fun…. The trailer is now on YouTube. Have a look and see if you can spot yourself in the audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDLpo0njfs

Over and out. (For now.)

Much accidental love!

Pablo, Daisy, and Rick

TEXT RESPONSES

I thought there might be some curious minds out there, who might be wondering if one received any text messages in response to everyONE is looking for someONE… As you know, whilst one was trying to look for one, one left a series of messages in red envelopes.

WHO ARE YOU LOOKIG FOR?
5/6/10
I was here at (insert time).
I waited for you.
I looked for you amongst the crowd.
But I couldn’t find you….
(if you find this message please text…)

All in all, one left a total of 12 such messages, inside red envelopes, scattered across Brighton city centre: on benches, on railings, on lamp posts, etc… So, below you will find the texts one received….

05/06/2010
13:54 Found your note. What is it for?
15:55 I saw you, i was there. You went away without saying hello.
16:16 Hello! I couldn’t find you either, but i did find your message. I’m James, who are you? Xx
16:21 I’ve found your friend! On Bond St. Ruby x
16:22 I found your letter
17:33 I found your message today while walking home. This is all very mysterious. So I’m texting you.
18:17 Thank you
22:57 Found your note got da mssge

Then, to one’s surprise there was one more message that only arrived yesterday!

13/06/2010
18:27 Hey thought you’d want to know i found your letter last week a couple of hours after you left it. If i’d known you were looking for me i would have got there sooner

All those individuals who texted received the same reply on the following day:

Hello, thank you very much for your text yesterday. You were a small part of Accidental Collective’s new performance project: everyONE is looking for someONE. If you would like to find out more, please email info@accidentalcollective.co.uk Thanks!

So far only one person has been in touch. Here is the email she sent:

Dear people/person running this project,I was asked to say something about my experience so here it is:I was on my way back from my writing group and had already randomly run into a couple of people I knew unexpectedly so I was in a particularly good mood, when I saw the red envelope tied to the bench. I first thought it looked like a romantic token since red is often the colour of romance, but since it seemed to be there for anyone to look at it I went to read the card inside. The "Who are you looking for" and "I waited but you did not come" messages were intriguing though I assumed they were meant for everyone to read rather than one person since it was in a public area. I had a few thoughts on why the card might have been left there.... I thought it was perhaps someone looking for new friends in an inventive way, someone looking for romance (although they were taking a bit of a chance since anyone could have replied), a TV or student project, or maybe the comedian and writer Danny Wallace since I've read a couple of his books and he seems to do this sort of thing all the time. Anyway I wouldn't normally have actually replied and I didn't at first, but as I was walking away I noticed a middle aged woman come up to the bench. So I sat down on the grass and watched her take out her phone to ring someone... maybe you... after reading it. Then since I was in a particularly good mood, it was a lovely sunny day, and I wasn't going to be beaten by a middle aged woman, I went back, stored the number in my phone, and texted after all.Then went home and told everyone on facebook all about it. So far I have had 3 comments, one thinking it was creepy, one thinking it was either creepy or lovely, and one comparing it to the film message in a bottle (which I haven't actually seen).Hope this helps with your project,Have a lovely Sunday,Solera.

everyONE's looked in Brighton

So picture this...

It is midday...

The sun is at its peak...

At the zenith of the mornings sojourn into the afternoon...

Two identically dressed figures figures exit a small stationers on a street in Brighton. Their bowler hats and plain black suits speak of business, intention, sobriety... except from the dinnerplate sized, apparently spray-painted, targets emblazoned high up on their backs.

Their simple black briefcases and air of purpose means that as they part on the steps of the stationers with scarcely a word and nothing so unnecessary as a pause, you hardly notice.

But it, in its silent and covert way, has begun.

For the following five hours these two characters saught only one thing... To re-unite.

But how easy is such a task? In days of mobile phones and internet surely finding OneAnother should be easy.

The other thing those identical costumes scream of is an older world (minus the painted targets, obviously), a world of Victorian Bankers, Pre-war Politicians...

As such these two, who are ONE to ONE another, have no mobile phones, GPS and only a shaky outline of the geography of the city by the sein in which they find themselves.

In fact... The only things these characters have are: a biro, a notebook, camera, blank postcards, red envelopes, string, chalk and a clipboard bearing a picture of their opposite number.

In short - Nothing of use.

So 5 hours, limited resources and noticable fashion sense (even in Brighton on a hot Saturday afternoon in June) collude to create a basis for an evening performance these two are appointed to present... but before they get to this, they must look for one another. How hard can that be?

One started by strolling towards the sea front. One thought that One might have been drawn there by the crowds, the noise, the cool breeze...

No luck.

In the exposed midday heat One did get a little warm.

Turning inland and threading back towards the place One lost another, crossing the face of a shopping centre it happened.

Unexpectedly, One was there.

A photo

a chalked date/time marked on the floor

a picture, taken by a passer-by

Few words

Gone again...

meandering downhill One spoke to a street vendor. Sat by his wares in a deckchair... he hadnt seen One. He took a card and promised to get in touch if he saw One.

He's looking for noONE... I told him EveryONE's looking for SomeONE.

One repeated the same with Kat on Gardener Street. She worried i was a weirdo.
She took a card though and said she'd get in touch if she saw One...
I'm not sure she was committed.

Wandering, marking times, noting turns, Street names, people One spoke to.

One Left a message for One on a bicycle in Meeting house Lane.

"I waited here for you...

You didnt show up...

I smoked a cigarette...

in Vain..."

Sealed in a red envelope with a number to call, tied on with plain, grey, string.

One wandered.

One met another once more that day.

Same process as before complete with a stranger taking their picture. It was outside The Bath Store.

The dozen or so people One spoke to were polite, engaged and helpful.

One baked in a black suit with a target painted on One's back.

...

As the afternoon turned into evening One found One and they took to a Pit in a Basement venue on Kensington Street...

Anarchic attempts at relaying their experiences, spread across an urban environment, a mini-sea-shore-city unfold.

One is factual, pedantic, plodding.

One in procative, easily distracted, forgetful.

Reviewing photos, notes and concepts, Reviewing experiences, messages people had text and voice-mailed... trying to let them understand how one felt, how one thought, how one survived, got noticed or ignored...

Whether anyone was any the wiser by the time these two One's had finished did not seem to matter... with splatter marked pockets of information, thoughts and ideas sprayed all over the audience... with an example of the simple un-defined way in which EveryOne's looking for SomeONE presented and exposed to the world... Everyone applauded, said nice things...

One and One's brains were already ticking onwards...

My journey....

Here are my notes of the journey I took through the streets of Canterbury last Friday (21/05/10) as part of our trial run of everyONE is looking for someONE. One of the ‘rules of the game’ is that we are not allowed to carry maps to navigate the urban landscape. Instead, like purposeful flâneurs, we rely on chance, instinct and directions given by people whom we meet along the way. Therefore, these notes will be vital when it comes to trace our respective routes during the evening ‘performance’. Unlike Rick I did not write down the times, which is something I will certainly do in Brighton in order to make the ‘narrative’ easier to follow.

So without further ado, here are my notes. The journey lasted between 12:15pm and 16:15pm. By all means feel free to take a pen and trace it onto a map of Canterbury…

St. Margaret’s Street left into High Street; left into Memorial Garden; left into High Street; straight into St. Peter’s Street; left into St. Peter’s Place; left into Tower Way; left into Black Griffin Lane; right into St. Peter’s Street; straight into High Street; right into Stour Street; back on myself and right into Beer Cart Lane; straight into Watling Street; right into Dane John Gardens; across the park; right into Castle Row; through the green; right into Castle Street; straight into St. Margaret’s Street; right into Marlowe Arcade; left into Rose Lane; right into the Parade; straight into St. George’s Street; left into Canterbury Lane; left into Burgate; left into Mercery Lane; right onto High Street; left into Stour Street; right into Greyfriars’ Garden; around the gardens; left into Stour Street; right into High Street; left into Guildhall Street; right into Sun Street; straight into Burgate; right into Iron Bar Lane; right onto the Parade; straight into High Street; right into Best Lane; right into Orange Street; right into Guildhall Street; left into High Street; straight into the Parade; straight into St. George’s Street; right into Whitefriars, right into Gravel Walk; through Rose Square; straight into Marlowe Arcade; right into St. Margaret’s Street; left into Memorial Garden; right into the Parade; right into Rose Lane; straight into Marlowe Avenue; straight into Dane John Gardens; through the park; straight into St. George’s Lane; left into St. George’s Street; straight into the Parade; right into Mercery Lane. THE END

All in all I left six messages. On the envelopes I wrote: “FOR YOU”. Inside, I placed postcards that said: “I was here at (insert time). I waited. You didn’t come. I looked for you, but couldn’t find you.” Then, with a little bit of string, I carefully tied the envelopes onto benches, railings, or posts.

I did meet Rick twice: once at the beginning of the day, and once at the very end of our journeys.

And, after a few failed attempts, I managed to take pictures of eight people. A big, big thank you goes out to all of them.

Pablo

Intertextuality, perhaps?

I have been thinking about our latest work, or rather, IT has been haunting me. The image of these two solitary figures, sticking out like sore thumbs in the urban environment… Black bowler hat. Black briefcase. Black suit. Black shoes…

everyONE is looking for someONE

Isn’t this very Samuel Beckett? The pointlessness of it! A desolate sense of hope to find one another. And of course the bowler hats. Yes, very Vladimir and Estragon.

Isn’t this very Gilbert and George? The fun of it! A tongue in cheek intervention into unsuspecting people’s everyday life. And of course the matching suits. Yes, very living sculpture.

Isn’t this very Rene Magritte? The absurdity of it! A surreal sense of wonderment. And of course, again, the bowler harts. Yes, very Gloconda.

It seems that with this new piece we are referencing, subconsciously to a degree, a vast body of historic works. Intertextuality ear your heart out! The question is how this might become manifest in the evening ‘performance’. The piece is beautifully simple on the surface (two men trying to find each other), but infinitely complex underneath. What a fantastic starting point…

Pablo

everyONE is looking for someONE

It's been a while, but don't think Accidental Collective's brain hasn't been ticking away...

As part of Basement Arts, Brighton, Accidental Collective are producing something new.

Whilst ostensibly an evening performance the contents of that performance will be shaped by One and Another's trials and tribulations as they sought each other out earlier that day, in Brighton City centre.

Taking meticulous records of times, places, people they met, One and Another will create an ephemeral web of movements, acts and interventions around Brighton City centre.

The revelation of how successful (or not) this was will be told as the whole thing unravels in front of a live audience in the evening performance.

Though....

Accidental Collective thought it might be best to have a think about this and maybe try it out.

As such we took to the streets of our hometown of Canterbury last Friday (21/5/10) to get a sense of what worked, what didn't, how far could you ask people to go..? how far could we go?

Dressed as extras from The Thomas Crown Affair, One and Another parted ways on St Margret's Street. Briefcases, black shoes, bowler hats...

"Hi, I'm looking for this guy... (shows picture). Have you seen him?

(Giggling) "ermm... no. sorry"

"Are you just heading into town now?"

"We are... we're going shopping"

"So you'll be in town for a while?.. i only ask cos if you see him, it'd be great if you could let him know you saw me... could you do that?"

(more giggling)"... I guess..."

"Brilliant... now if you'd (produces camera) like to say cheese.."

TAKES PICTURE

"and sign this form.... just to say you know we wont do anything outrageous with the picture...

SHE SIGNS

"Okay guys, that's great... please do let him know you've seen me... "

Okay, as an engagement this needs work.

How do we get them involved?

Is this a giant game of hide and seek where the seekers don't know One or Another, each other... and the hiders are always in plain sight...

How else can they have fun with this?

How else can they help shape the evenings relation of events to a live audience..? One Another, together for the first time...

maps, urban space and looking for someone...

Accidental Collective have been thinking....

Who are you looking for?

With that thought in mind, Accidental Collective are taking to the streets of Brighton.

One will be looking for Another. Leaving messages, marks, in an attempt to

time´s running out

in mere moments i am making my way upstairs to start dismantling the logic of this piece of work......

There should now be a large and mishapen, re-made map of the world.... i have stopped listening to Chilean radi0, BBCworldservice is now switched off.... its just me, the laptop glow and the distant sound of "its a small world after all"....

dark times.....

Internaional is big

International is small

international is one

international is many

International is near

international is far!

international is an ideal

internationa is a front

international is people

international is contact

international is sharing

international is presenting

international is problematic

international is life

international is natural

international is scary

international is kind

wow

well i just spoke to someone in Germany...

he was watching the simpsons..... the true universal language of the simpsons was revealed to us.
He had a hard night last night so was taking it easy today.....

its alright for some

we dont have much time left here now.... my oddesy of interraction with the world is definately slowing down and i need to know more!!!!!!!!!

i have found someone in China.... he´s an ex-soldier and artist... which is great cos my friend Glenn Fitzpatrick is in the same boat.... everyone should buy his book "Arts and Mines" available from amazon and all good retailers

> Connected, feel free to talk now
You: heyYou: where are you?
Stranger: china Stranger: and you ?You: England
Stranger: football is good
You: what time of day is it there? I dont really know much about football.
You: it gives the english a bad name
Stranger: It is the evening
Stranger: Yeah
You: what do you do???
Stranger: I am an ex-soldier
You: wow... i am an ex-alcoholic...
Stranger: And now
You: ... umm.... i guess I´m an artist
You: www.accidentalcollective.co.uk
Stranger: good
You: and what about you?
You: much of a living to be made as an ex-soldier?
Stranger: I also counted an artist bar
You: kindred souls then.
Stranger: Because I had studied fine arts
You: do you still make work?Stranger: yesYou: anything i could see?
Stranger: wait Stranger: My paintings are in the former home teacher
Stranger: sorry
You: sad times. thanks for looking though (he then produces some lovely portraits done in pencil)
You: cool!!!!! who´re those pictures of?
Stranger: He is my friendYou: i could never draw.... even my handwritting is awful

little interventions!

emergency calls now being connected

carparks have collapsed, emergency services are now able to respond....

near to the epicentre is still eerily quiet.....

what will they find there.

parts of a motorway have collapsed...

though i am listening to quite a jolly Chilean radio station....

when do we allow Chileans the chance to be happy again and not "in mourning" for the quake...? what is a suitable mourning period for a natural disaster.... things have already gone eerily quiet in Haiti... no more regualr updates from there....

Chile update

there are reports of waves over 2m high hitting the coast around chile
death toll now at 82...

Okinawa has also had a quake of 7.0 on the richter scale too.... whats happenig under ground? it makes you remember there are these massive forces grinding up against each other all over the place.... but 2 in the same day????

Two ships carrying aid have been dispatched to Robinson Crusoe Island, part of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, which has already been hit by huge waves triggered by the earthquake."Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said..... (curtesy Al Jazeera)

I just spoke to Gonzales in San Francisco... its only half 8 there and he had quite a late night... shocking!
The larges t problem faced by the world today is Small dogs, kept in handbags... DOGS ARE NOT ACCESSORIES.... what next? philipino´s in handbags?

His biggest problem is asserting himself in the workplace (where alot of his collegues are older than him). i know this feeling. sometimes you get an awreness of being young and having to hold your own with people who might not offer you the regard you deserve...

He admits to being abit relationship-aphobic....

International is everything thats not here....

another snapshot of the world....

why did nobody spot it coming

First map picture and Latest map picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!

only a few hours divide them but look how big its got!!!!!!!!

This is all happening above me in a large circular room. They are re-shaping the world from old pieces of atlas while i try to reach out to you readers via cyberspace... eek!!!!!!

time keeps slipping

i have been trying to skype someone in Canada but there´s no reply at all....

this makes me sad. thank god for using Chatroulette.... i have found some dutch girls who have questionable music tastes.... but they got me to play 99luftballoons..... happy happy music!


I spoke to Stephen who´s in the USA (nr Chicago)

He has interesting ideas on re-organisation of the world.... the redistribution of money would solve poverty, a simple idea. take from the rich and give to the poor.
The idea is that money as a symbol of exchange has the power to reshape the political and working order of the world...

I always saw money as a barrier to peace... as long as one person has more money than someone else then there will always be something to strive for... someone who is "better"... someone to be jealous of....

He says povery is the worlds biggest problem

He worries about his daughter and drink. (she´s 18)

There´s an engagement with a person, with the world.... i dont feel ... satisfied

Is that me?

what makes this a satisfying thing to do...? how do i get more out of the engagements i am seeking to make... the information i am looking to find

i want to talk to someone on the ground... somehow it seems important to me

Easter Island has been pretty much evacuated....

i am trying to fin dsomeone in Chile to talk to...

They have closed airports in Santiago (quite a way from the epicentre)

Apparently even phonelines for the emergency services were have been down
i have been speaking to people out there in the world... their lives are going on regardless....

i´m really trying

I think i might be demanding too much....

I am after a ceaseless supply of information on things developing over there.... i want to know everything. does knowing help those in trouble?

The 1960 earthquake being our guideline... .look here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxXf-dYtG7Q

I dont know what to expect to happen soon...

should i worry or be grateful?

ok ok ok

ok ok ok.....

i worry that i´m losing focus here.... i am having real trouble finding more information on Chile as it unfolds....

everyone keeps saying the deathtoll is set to rise........ Everyone says "signs of devastation"

look at this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEgI1reQpM0

no sound

hmmmm

Whats going on?

There´s alot i don’t know about Chile....

I worry that some rush of sympathy, outpouring of grief on my part would be false. I don’t know these people, i don’t know their homes.... i have never heard of Concepcion
Severe shaking
The Chilean National Emergency Office (Onemi) is responsible for coordinating responses from services such as fire fighters, medical teams and civil defence.
The emergency response system is organised at national, regional and local level.
"Chile is a seismic country. So, we must be prepared!" is the message from Onemi.
The office provides advice on how to prepare for earthquakes and other disasters, and how to behave when one strikes.
Scientists say severe shaking is likely to have been experienced along a 300km stretch of coastline, including in important urban centres such as Concepcion, Arauco, Lota, and Constitucion.

So they were prepared but does that make it easier to deal with the devastation?
Is it only so crucial because we still feel a hangover from Haiti barely more than a month ago.... there´s still some fundraising going on but the constant reports and stories of the troubles there have died down alot. Only 78 reported dead.... so far!
I wonder why Chile ended up being the shape it did... This elongated stretch of coastline... seemingly only there to protect Argentina from the Pacific Ocean. Barely heading inland as if reassured by the presence of the sea, clinging to it....


more than 25 aftershocks... and apprently Ther ehas been a clue dropeed by Carly Simon as to who the song "yoú´re so vain" is about.... The Sun has figured it out.....

I´m dissapointed with myself at being distracted by celebrity news...

Chile

what is the largest problem faced by you in your daily life!?

Well i just heard a report about a lady who was too weak to get her door open as the house started to come down around her....

Thats a hard thing to face.... hard day.

She got out.

The people of Concepcion have started making up massive sand bags to help protect the coastline. apparently there are already bigwaves

Day two begins!

so now we are into the final stage of this piece of work...

eek...

in theory i´m supposed to be working on -2 GMT... but i find myself drawn to this mornings earthquake in Chile...

There are still reports flooding in from this part of the world....

Currently the death toll reported by the BBC is 78....

Sky news reports that Tsunami warnings have been issued in 53 countries...

I´m fascinated by the fact that the sea is such a physical conduit in the transmission of such vast amounts of power and literally throw it up again hundreds if not thousands of miles away... Last time this happened in Chile there were follow up tsunami´s in Japan!

Antarctica

Antarctica is a continent.....

i dont think we grasp how truly mangled our view of the world is until we think on that....

i mean the arctic is ok and all.... There´s the north pole all of that.... Santa.... but Antarctica is contrary to our whole world view.... everything goes East to West, left to right (or vice versa)... so then sitting at the geographical bottom.... the underside... is this other continent....

an unaccounted for, place.... a place of penguins and polar bears... though, since 1997 it has played host to cash machines... this means that whichever continent you ar eon you will be able to draw out your cash. isnt that a reassuring thought...

The lost posts......

In this small period of relative hush (plus some coldness and definately some darkness....) i thought i´d post the lost blog from the start of today.......

nicely mixes things up doesnt it


Friday, 26 February 2010

whats in +12 GMT
Whats in +12 GMT??Who knows? i´m abit baffled at the moment and thinking this might be an impossible task. its really hard to look at world clocks... they all presuppose you know the country your looking for...hmm....ideas to iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.ukI´m using this site called chatroulette which is this savage place where you connect randomly to strangers all over the world. it seems to be mostly blokes... i get cut off alot as i think they´re all hunting girls... ho hum it seems that people all over the world like girls.not a groundbreaking realisation. but a realisation none the lessI just spoke to jesus... yes jesus. it connected to a figure of christ on the cross. i asked where he was... he said "heaveb"... i said ohh... where´s that?... he said "yes...heaveb"... as asked if he meant Heaven... he signed off....wonder what that could mean!

I just spoke to Daisy´s mum!!!!!!

I just spoke to Daisy´s mum!!!!!

She´s in Yorkshire! So its the same timezone for me! whoop whoop!!!!! i feel like two partos of my being have been squashed back together.... but not in a Startrek, transporter accident kind of way. more in a two pieces of playdoh pushed back together sort of way! becoming whole again but not without its own squishy gurgling noises.

Miranda (Daisy´s mum) thinks that the media has a large part to play in alot of the worlds problems... is there too much?

We giggled at the irony.

Her problems are more rooted in the world she inhabits... as you would expect...

Young people who need help but giving that help without the endless finances and resources that would make the job easy... I wouldnt even know where to start.

So she´s not a million miles away but she still has different experiences. hmmmmm.... but i was sort of coming to the conclusion that we were all basically the same....

Rafael (Pablo´s dad - See!!! we´re on first name terms) said to me that despite our economic ailings, piss poor weather, whatever.... we´re not poor. not Africa poor, not Indian street child poor...

i really want to speak to someone in Africa now... just to find out....

Just because of a conversation with someone up the road in Leeds...

West Yorkshire

They have culture...

Founded in 1888, Leeds City Art Gallery now houses an impressive collection of art dating back to around 1820. The Gallery's 20th century British collection was hailed by the Times as "probably the best outside London". Spread over three floors the Gallery boasts famous Victorian paintings, a small collection of French Post-Impressionist paintings, contemporary British art and a selection of works on paper drawn from the important collection of prints, watercolours and drawings.
The Gallery also houses the Craft Shop and Design Gallery, one of the most prestigious retail outlets for contemporary craft in the North of England.

They have night life...

Leeds has arguably one of the best clubbing scenes in the country packed into a compact metropolis that defies even the most discriminating clubber not to find something to take their fancy. Whatever floats your musical boat you will find it in one of the dozens of nightclubs or hundreds of bars in the city centre. There is an abundance of mainstream clubs for those whose main objective is unabashed fun! Creation is Leeds’ largest nightclub and offers three areas of music under one roof – Commercial Dance, Cheesy Chart and RnB. The same three genres are executed across 3 floors at Heaven and Hell in the Grand Arcade. Majestyk in City Square is in a similar vein, but the club is one large space as opposed to several rooms. Bondi Beach and Baja Beach Club are both beach themed venues where the music has been imported from a Dairylea factory (pure cheese) and the staff bounce around in bikinis. Check out Bondi to experience the city’s only revolving dance floor although getting off is not always easy after a few alco-pops too many!

and the means to create a night life

Leeds Brewery
Leeds' Independent Brewery
Leeds Brewery was established in 2007. It is the city’s only independent brewery. We combine the latest in brewing technology with time honoured skills and use the finest ingredients – choicest English hops, select British malted barley and our unique Yorkshire yeast – to create truly exceptional beers.
Our beers are full of flavour
Our young and enthusiastic team bring experience from across the industry to brew the finest ales and provide the best possible service. We hope the quality of our ingredients and our devotion to the brewer’s art is evident in the superior flavours, aroma, balance and character of our beers.

and a university....

I´ve been there... though it rained everytime, i think its a very nice place....

Thats the first place i have talked about today that i have actually been to!

Pablos DAD!!!!!!!!!!

So... I just spoke to Pablo´s Dad...

that was random.

He´s concerned we´ve lost touch with one another and our common spirit....

When i pictured peoples responses to the question "what is the biggest problem facing the world today" i imagined answers like "Pollution" Recycling" "child povery"... Bob Geldoff answers.

Instead.... Common spirit, Pride.... are offered up as answers. much more hollistic, more open to interpretation and all ask us to change ourselves to change the world.....

interresting.

International is ... The ability to talk to people in other languages.

So says Pablo´s Dad... coming from a multi lingual family i can see how that would qualfy a person to be considered international... I hate the fact that Pablo spends five minutes in a country and has worked out the alphabet, phonics and most childrens nursery rhymes and folk tales.

god bless English education!

Heading dangerously towards Europe and i dont feel like i´ve learned an awful lot

i need to talk to someone........... (does it show?... not to me love!... oh well thats alright then!!)

I´m trying to contact Ana in Egypt at the moment. she´s not answering my skype call thing... (i´ve never used it before today!)... which makes me a little bit sad actually... i was really hoping for some more of the interraction bit...

now i dont really know what to do. i looked at Egypt already... i wanted to hear a voice, see a sight maybe would have been good.

which sights would it have been?

so what about all these places i´m trying to discover... what about all the people?
The human angle??

i am due to talk to Sara in Egypt in half n hour os so.... i could do with some relaxed human interraction ... its all abit frought behind me...

When talking about Egypt we have to talk about the Nile... The pharhaos...

what is it like to live in Cairo today...

The 16 million people who live in Cairo, the largest city in the Middle East and Africa, generate over 9,000 tons of garbage every day. At no cost to the government, a group of poor and displaced settlers from Egypt's rural south, the majority of who are Coptic Christians, have developed an economy and community from collecting the city's trash. Known as the Zaballeen, or "garbage collectors", they not only help to maintain the cleanliness of the city, but sort out all recyclable materials to sell back to the manufacturers. Because of their efforts, 80-90% of all the garbage they collect is recycled and re-used. This unique income-generating model is an extraordinary example of environmental sustainability that has been lauded, studied and replicated around the world.
While the estimated 65,000 Zaballeen provide a valuable service to the city and the environment, they are not formally recognized by the government and are largely rejected by Egyptian society because of the stigma associated with their work. Most are illiterate and suffer from health problems due to the piles of waste that occupy their district. In addition, the government has recently secured contracts with foreign multi-national waste disposal companies in an attempt to modernize Egypt. These contracts cost millions of dollars, demand collection fees from the citizens of Cairo, and require only 20% of the waste to be recycled. (from Kidswithcameras.com)

There´s 65,000/16,000,000´s answer... either way those numbers seem unreal. statistics, estimates, percentages, slices of the pie, lists of potential maladys, unique characteristics, laudable efforts... the stories write themselves from that dont they?

iran iraq turkey all to come

what´s an islamic republic?

http://www.persianbazaar.com/ Exercise your freedom in shopping!!!!

I found the constitution of the Islamic republic of at http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution-1.html

i found the Persian Bazaar link at the bottom of the constitution homepage...

Afghanistan

If you google Afghanistan you get 16,600,000 hits...
If you google Life in Afghanistan you get 97,600,000 hits...
If you google Kent you get 82,900,000 hits...
If you google Life in Kent you get 97,600,000hits...

I just realised i know someone in Romania so I just facebooked them to see if they could take part... i had to be reminded of international links i have... even though i don’t think of myself as international in any way shape or form... though i do have an american father though i´ve never been there...

Afghanistan makes me think of poppies... which makes me think of rememberance sunday... but its not really like that...
IED´s, roadside bombs, the return trip through Wooten Basset...
Sun, sand, no sea for miles around... Landlocked.

more people were involved in Afghan Opuim production in 2007 than had access to the internet... just goes to show that international trade can blossom with or without cyberspace

i never seem to have enoug time in these half hour slots to get any real sense of the country i´m looking at. There´s abit of Wiki, some tourist and travel sites... then... i panic.

half fourdo you know

Do you know what happens when yo ublog the word international????

you get adverts for motor sales, international deliveries, the rotary club.......

about 7th or 8th is Amnesty international


so i guess we´re moving towards Bangladesh, India that sort of way.... bu talso a big slice of Kahazakstan and Russia......

Bangladeshi bowlers.... thats where my idea of Bangladesh is rooted... in that and the fact that bangladeshi food is sooooooooo delicious and so firey and so complex and so subtle..... cricket and food.... the underpinning of all modern day understandings...
did you know you can get to Bangladesh for as little as 350 pounds!!?

so wher ein the world are we.....

where are we?

who am i?

These are good existential questions but one s i haveno time to deal with at the present time.

Ther reason is that i am desperately trying to keep up with time and it keeps jogging on... if only i didnt smoke so much.... it would enable me to try a little harder and wouldnt make me so aware of my own mortality by slowly taking my breath away.

I´m a little lost as to the timezone i am on for this half hour

its all getting abit blurry.... i thik its currently +7GMT

where´s that?

its some parts of china.....

here´s everything i know about China.....

It is a very large country,
t is a communist state which has recently opened itself up in certain economic ways whilst still being able to determine its own destiny (in some ways)
In recent years it has gone through a perdiod of rapid industrialisation building cities, roads, links of all descriptions have been made possible with modernised airports, sea ports... we have been buying alot of stuff from them... as we ll as sending them stuff of ours to make and then send back to us.... we even send our recycling for them to recycle and send back to us to reuse... there´s something peculiar in that...

Chinese food is improperly represented in take aways and restaurants all over britain and it can be healthy, light and with little or no deep frying involved.... (take that Century Chinese)

I have seen a documentary about the way in which poor people in china are moved off their land in order that cities and towns can be built and they are then "asked" to take jobs in the new cities and towns and never asked how they feel about that....

I know that China had the olympics not so long ago.... they did very well though the opening ceremony with the tictacs on LSD was a little disconcerting......
Apparently the Chinese also hosted the Paralympic games to a high standard providing fully accessible facilities, drop curbs all over the city and generally were very nice...

I know about the whole thing with a monk sitting in front of a tank and setting fire to himself... and protests turning into Bloodbaths.... i think thats happened alot in the past. not just there but in other places.... so i might be getting them confused.

Thailand

So what about Thailand?

where is thailand? on the old tourist trail... "go to thailand" "stopped over on my way to/from Australia" i saw the rainforest, ladyboys, porn, drugs..."

I have never been to Thailand.

i dont know what to write.... nobody is talking to me out there... though i found some blogs and learnt some things..... The Thai voice is worth loooking up. i have learnt about financial scandals, shopping mall scandal, crises.............

i am losing the ongoing battle with my printer and camera set up... it wont seem to talk to one another and it makes me sad to think i cant get any photos up for you to see..... so i´ll see what i can do.... grumble!!!!

and on and on

so here we are....
two and a half hours....

in fairness my planning hadnt gone as far as this........ what happens next. who do i talk to where are they?

from this open sided booth in a tiny city in England. i am reaching out.

i cant research the places i dont know. its impossible to find out about a place simply via google... i can look at maps, tourist board websites, blah blah....

Talking to Andrew has given me a real sense of what it is to live in the world. He´s an expat, living in Japan. aware that it can be as unfriendly as any place. but still making the conscious decision to live inthe place that makes him happy,

He also sends Richard his best regards and fears that the odd email and letter they exchange isnt quite as frequent as´they´d both like.... sound familiar to anyone? I have people who only live down the coast i dont see as often as i should, let alone on the other side of the world...

i am small keeps on running

so we´re going on again and again...

I now have to contact Japan...

Andrew was delightful to talk to.... i learnt alot.

including...

That the japanese are just a rowdy on the tube...

They arent as polite as they used to be

International is Macdonalds... he likes the coffee... he wanted to give me a profound answer.
Personally i think that is profound

i may be the only one but i am very confused by all this timezone business... singapore and Japan. different timezones... but seemingly in the wrong order...

i dont really get it

answers to iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.uk

Daisy now has blogs on her home page

daisy now has blogs on her homepage "accidentaldaisy" as she logged me into it right at the start.

i shall try to catch you up in a moment.....


right so here we are. i feel i have been failing in my duty as the kind of engine room, back office function for the running of this piece!!!

i have been trying t ofind ways to contact the world and see whats ou t there because i am small... there is lots to see and do...

i was using a site called "chat roulette" wher e you can be endlessly connected to randome people all over the world. it seems to be mstly men looking for women... so i seem to get cut off alot.

i also am researching timezones as i go.
i am working backwards from +12 GMT. .. every half of an hour, represents one time zone. i am to speak to someone in that timezone if i can and find out some things about that part of the world.

as i have said.... i ahve been failing.

That just changed as i spoke to Debbie in Singapore. I dont know who was more scared. probably me! i didnt know aht to say i was just so excited! first contact, There IS a world out there.

i am small... it begins.

so... i am small the world is big starts... so far one picture taken... i´ll see if i can put it up... looks like i cant til i work out enough spanish to navigate my way round pablos´s laptop.

Its half hour number one and for me that means i am interrested in getting this all started.

every half hour i shall be trying to contact one person in a given timezone. Today we are working backwards from +12 GMT... so at one thirty i shall be trying to contact somebody in that timezone... its a weird one. i shall also be trying to keep you up dated and find out some interesting things about those places.
i want to reach out... i want to know what it is to live out there... in the world!

Where are you?

what is the biggest problem in the world today?

What is the biggest problem you face in your life today?

answers to iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.uk

speak real soon!

Skype around the globe!

Dear all…

As part of "i am small THE WORLD IS BIG" we are looking for people from all round the world to Skype with us!

We have divided the project’s 14 hours of duration amongst the different time zones, so that every half hour will be dedicated to a different area. What we are looking for is for people in these time zones to be connected for half an hour onto Skype and wait for a call from us.

So, if you know anybody around the world (it might be even yourself) we would really appreciate if you could read and pass around the following information.

Thanks a lot!

Pablo

……………………………………………………………….


Dear Potential Skypee....

We are Accidental Collective, South-East England's most exciting live-art and performance company. 2010 has seen us embark on our most ambitious and wide reaching piece of work to date. And we want you to be involved through Skype!

"i am small, the world is BIG" is a multi faceted, interactive performance-installation which seeks to bridge the gaps in our understanding of ourselves as individuals and the world at large.
Taking in such questions as "what one thing would you change to make the world a better place?" Accidental Collective seek to reach beyond their own experience of what it means to live in the 21st Century and speak to and of the world.
We're setting up a ‘sweatshop’ where voluntary collaborators will be stitching together a reconfigured world map. We'll be inviting people to change the world in their own ways and we'll be attempting to encapsulate the wealth of experiences and ways of life from around the world... a big task
In the first of many incarnations, i am small, the world is BIG is being installed in the Senate building of the University of Kent over the 26th and 27th of February this year. We are using the closest English University to mainland Europe as a launch pad for this exciting, ongoing work.

As part of our ‘out-reach’ into the world we are going to attempt to Skype one person in each of the worlds time zones every half hour for which the project is live. We'd be looking to talk for about 5 minutes about what its like where you are, the climate, politics, news and anything else really... we're just reaching out into the world... reaching out to you... We're working around the world from the International Date Line and would love to speak to people of every age, gender, creed, and any other way of categorizing the myriad of fellow humans around the globe.

What do you reckon?
5 minutes to connect with someone, free... are you?

Please look at the table below. And if you live in one of the states GTM zones and are free at the times stated, we would love you to be involve (times are stated using the 24 hour clock):

SATURDAY 27th February
GMT your time Countries (some examples)
+12 1:30 – 2:00 New Zealand
+11 1:00 – 1:30 Vanuatu, Solomon Islands
+10 00:30 – 1:00 Papua New Guinea, Eastern Australia (Sydney)
+9 00:00 – 00:30 Japan


FRIDAY 26th February
GMT your time Countries (some examples)
+8 23:30 – 00:00 Western Australia (Perth), Philippines, China
+7 23:00 – 23:30 Thailand, Vietnam
+6 22:30 – 23:00 Kazakhstan
+5 22:00 – 22:30 Pakistan
+4 21:30 – 22:00 Oman, United Arab Emirates,
+3 21:00 – 21:30 Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Moscow
+2 20:30 – 21:00 South Africa, Sudan, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine
+1 20:00 – 21:30 Namibia, Algeria, Europe
0 19:30 – 20:00 Portugal, Mali, Cape Verde, Ghana

SATURDAY 27th February
GMT your time Countries (some examples)
-3 11:00 – 11:30 am Argentina, Brazil (Sao Paulo),
-4 10:30 – 11:00 am Bolivia, Venezuela
-5 10:00 – 10:30 am Peru, Colombia, New York,
-6 9:30 – 10:00 am Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico
-7 9:00 – 9:30 am USA (Denver) Canada (Edmonton)
-8 8:30 – 9:00 am Los Angeles, San Francisco
-9 8:00 – 8:30 am Alaska
-10 7:30 8:00 am Hawaii
-11 7:00 – 7:30 am Tonga, Samoa


If you might be able to be connected onto Skype between the above mentioned times and you'd like to take part in this innovative and all encompassing art event then send us your details to iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.uk from there we shall endeavour to create a timetable and will be in touch with you shortly.

We'd love to hear from you!

Accidental Collective.

This project is kindly supported and commissioned by The Gulbenkian Theatre and WorldFest 2010.

----------------------------
Accidental Collective
www.accidentalcollective.co.uk
www.theworldofaccidentalcollective.blogspot.com

POSTER

A while back we bought a second hand sewing machine with our meagre budget... Last Saturday Daisy came around my place and used it to put together the poster for i am small THE WORLD IS BIG. I think the final outcome is a thing of beauty. And that comes from me, who up to now had always designed the posters for our projects using rather crude tools. As a n homage to her creative vision and her perseverance, and as a second part or follow up to her first round against a hand-operated sewing machine here is a little video.

And of course, below you can see the final poster. You would think that something relatively minor like a poster or a postcard would not make us loose any sleep. Unfortunately, we have a somewhat perfectionist streak. Which means that we have to carefully consider every little thing, including the relationship between the publicity material and the project. Daisy and I agreed that, even though the poster does not illustrate the project's aesthetic it does reflect its sentiment/ethos rather nicely... Judge for yourself.

Pablo

The internet is for...

As I am sure I have mentioned before I have a slight weakness/addiction for BBC documentaries. Recently I have been hooked on Dr. Aleks Kotroski’s The Virtual Revolution. Trekkie Monster, resident of Avenue Q, would do well in watching the second episode, Enemy of the State?, because he would quickly come to realise that the internet is not just for porn. In said episode Dr. Kotroski investigates how the internet can be used as a tool for individuals to “play David to the state’s Goliath”. The example that most stuck in my mind is that of Austin Heap. This young American living in San Francisco responded to the post-election disturbances in Iran with direct action. As civil unrest worsened, the Iranian government blocked sites such as Facebook and Twitter to restrict its citizens’ ability to upload information, photographs and footage of the repression onto the internet. On the other side of the globe Austin Heap sprang developed Haystack, a piece of encryption software that allowed Iranians to access the blocked sites without being detected. The story seemed to resonate with i am small THE WORLD IS BIG. As tiny individuals we can make a difference, whether big or small, that can reverberate throughout the world. Moreover, the fact that the internet had been used as a tool for empowerment is also relevant to our project. We are currently investigating the possibilities of using Twitter and Skype throughout the piece. Although the use of this technology will be somewhat reduced in February’s presentation, we fully intend to expand this aspect of the project in future versions.

You can see The Virtual Revolution by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qsbvv/The_Virtual_Revolution_Enemy_of_the_State/ And for those of you reading this from abroad (unfortunately BBCiplayer is only available in the UK), you can still find out about this fantastic documentary series by visiting http://www.haystacknetwork.com/ Finally, to learn more about Austin Heap and Haystack go to http://blog.austinheap.com/haystack-good-luck-finding-that-needle/

Pablo

SPACE II

This is somewhat overdue, almost two weeks to be precise. As I mentioned in my previous post logistics and practicalities have, at this stage, a tendency to take over. But I have managed to steal a few hours to give you an update on our developments.

On Monday 1^st February we had a much awaited visit to the Senate Building. This was the first time we were properly able to explore the space and spend a significant amount of time in it. Our aim: to find our specific relationship with the building, and how we would situate i am small THE WORLD IS BIG within it. We were accompanied by Laura Hobbs (4^th year dramaturge student) and Sebastian Grau (MA student in European Theatre History). They had requested to see us in action because they will be writing about our creative process and the project in their respective dissertations. In the end their role was not merely passive and they helped us quite a bit, not just moving furniture about and figuring how to draw a crude plan of the space, but by asking questions that pushed us towards clarity. But I digress….

The two main practical issues we set to resolve were the audience’s route through the building and the layout for the ‘production line’ in the upstairs room. I will attempt to discuss the intricacies of the audience’s route first. i am small THE WORLD IS BIG will take the shape of a journey where the audience will be led though different rooms and areas: through the automated sliding doors and into the foyer, up the stairs to a welcome desk, into the main chamber and out again, down in the lift, into a small waiting area, into the vox-pop ‘booth’, and back out through the foyer into the wider world. The journey follows a logical, almost intuitive route through the building. Interestingly, it describes the outline of a spiral, first inwards towards the centre (where the large world map will be remade), and then outwards towards the world itself. This is strictly speaking not a one-at-a-time experience because for the most part, the audience will pass through communal areas (foyer, stairs, chamber, and waiting room). However, in line with the project’s concerns, we did want to offer some space where the audience members will stand as an individual: alone or in the company of a single performer. We therefore decided that the journey down in the lift will be taken by one person at a time, and designed the vox-pop ‘booth’ as a one-to-one performance exchange. The lift, to us, is a crucial moment. Even though the ride only lasts 10 seconds we hope this time spent alone will serve as a direct stimulus for personal reflection. This emphasis on the individual is also reflected in the way in which people will be led through the building. For Schengen Smile we used instructive posters and other similar devices that very clearly shepherded the audience: you must go here, you must wait here, you most not enter here, you must proceed here… For i am small THE WORLD IS BIG we wanted to use a less authoritative attitude, as we did not feel this would suit the project’s ethos and sentiment. We therefore have to strike a delicate balance between letting people know where to go and what route to follow, and maintaining a friendly and warm tone.

The layout of the production line, on the other hand, is set and secured. One the one hand is is always easier to work on the layout of one particular room (in this case the upstairs Senate chamber), rather than a whole route through a building. On the other hand, this is, at the end of the day, the project’s main thrust so it is not surprising that we were able to achieve a great level of clarity so quickly. When we first settled on the idea of setting up a ‘production line’ we instantly decided that the layout should be circular rather than in rows. Our aim was to quote, reference, or allude to industrial sweatshops rather than actually recreating one. Due to the project’s concerns the circle presented itself as the best and most logical option. Coming together, community, making a joint effort. Circle, circle, circle. On a more practical level, this option was the best one to fir the octagonal chamber where the ‘production line’ will be placed. But one question remained, how would be the circle organised? Since this ‘production line’ is made up of several stages and there are several workstations we would have to find logic to its layout. At the same time we were interested in the possibility of also quoting, referencing, and alluding to international conferences/summits. How would this be done? The answer came with a picture.

The above photograph was taken during the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009. The layout suited out ‘production line’ perfectly:

- an outer circle of independent tables (for the cutting, the shredding, the sewing machines, and a workstation for the audience to directly contribute towards the map-making)

- an inner circle of chairs where collaborators will stitch their personal fragments by hand

- a central area where other collaborators will stitch together these disparate fragments, creating a large re-shaped world map on the floor.

We then simply decided where each of the various stages of the process and workstations would be placed. Our final decision was shaped by the building. On the one hand we followed its symmetry and alignment. On the other hand, following a spatial narrative, we placed the cutting-table nearer the door used by the audience to enter the space and the shredding-table on the far end. This layout will allow the audience to come into the circle following a spiral route (into the room, along the outside of the circle, and then into it). The route will be emphasised by the movement of collaborators coming and going on their shifts.

And so this is it. The stage is set.

Pablo