Date: Wednesday 15 September
Mission: Participation
Special Agent: Ania Bas
Interrogation Agents: Lima, Brereton, Flanagan, Branthwaite and Goldsworthy
As with the previous week – Once the Agents had met ‘the mark’ and given Anna the correct answers to their mission questions the day began with an introductory talk from Anna and Ania about Participation.
Ania gave the agents some great tips about engaging with people and how to encourage participation and even put one of her suggestions into practice by bringing the Agents cakes to demonstrate that you can’t expect people to participate and give you infomration or their time without giving them something in return.
Ania talked about her work at the final conference event and her role as an artist filling gaps
VIDEO COMING SOON
The artists then took a tour and began to familiarise themselves with the town and the target area. As this week was about Participation they paid particular attention to the different people on the High Street adn what types fo activity they were doing and what might engage them.
Once again, the Agents had a couple of hours over a sandwich to design their Interrogation Activity with assistance from Ania and £20 to buy any materials needed. Many of the Agents used their £20 to buy sweets adn incentives for the participants but would it work…
VIDEO COMING SOON
Agent Lima
Agent Lima drew on her new found knowledge of the town and its industrial past, using nails (metal ones that you hammer, rather than those at the ends of your fingers) as a metaphor for this. She wanted the people of West Bromwich to be proud of this heritage and to ‘Carry A Nail For West Bromwich’.
Agent Brereton
The Agent wanted to get the people of West Bromwich thinking differently about their town and using the idea of props he bought a book filled with random facts and questions. He altered the questions so that they referred to West bromwich and asked passers-by what the answers were. For example: What is the biggest mountain in West Bromwich?
Agents Branthwaite and Goldsworthy (our Double Agents)
The Agetns worked together and decided to re-frame the High Street for people and get them to look at sections of the High Street that they normally wouldn’t and then map what they might alter about the building or place they were looking at. They used two home-made telescopes for people to look through and had sweets on hand as payment for participation.
Agent Flanagan
Agent Flanagan set up a stall at the end of the High Street giving away free items from the local pound shop in exchange for them taking a photo of something in the High Street that interests them. She drew around the participants feet to record which direction they were facing and then photographed this as a map fo the activity.
