The ‘Enablers’

Apart from the disappointing news today that we had to remove our interventions into the space, there was some good to come of today. This morning we spent a good couple of hours talking to various members of staff who worked throughout the Galleries, most of whom were the primary staff of the galleries and probably knew the space better than anybody. After telling them of our progress and possible intentions for the space, they were more than happy to give us advice and information relating the space and gallery as a whole. Some of the key points made were:

• What possible links could be made with other art movements within the city, i.e. art ambassadors
• How the use of the space will tie in with the rest of the gallery
• While we are trying to attract a wider demographic to the gallery, can the Youth Fourm not do more to reach out to local communities.

Over the final few weeks we will try to look into these matters and incorporate them into the final event which we are aiming to hold on Friday 2nd Nov. More information on this will follow shortly.

Intervention Day 3

 Our worst fears are confirmed! After just 2 days into the ‘Intervention’ phase of the project, we have received news that our display has not been well received by the gallery and must be taken down by 11am before a launch scheduled in the evening today. This ‘request’ highlights further the difficulties in creating an identity for the Youth Forum group ( which hopes to encourage the production and creative process of art?) within the gallery’s existing conditions.

new logo?

not sure if a ‘youth forum’ logo is something we want to suggest as they might like to develop it themselves- however i was playing with illustrator this afternoon i came up with this. any thoughts?

Intervention Day 2

We have placed chosen images and accompanying descriptions from the Graves Gallery’s collection to begin to suggest the connection between the work which the Youth Forum Studio have recently produced as self-interpretations of the Graves own existing art pieces. This concept will be developed further as the week progresses.

Ideas for fixings

Looking at the designs for the ‘designframe’ its become apparent that sturdy and robust fixings are going to be an essential requirement for the safety and security of the blocks. However moving on from that we started looking at how these fixings could go on to incorporate various accessories to enable then to be used for a multitude of scenarios. This idea will be progressed over the next couple of days.

 

Displayframe Agenda Diagram

[displayframe] Brief

manual for [displayframe]

For clarity, the ‘furniture’ will hereby be renamed the [displayframe].

Background
Up until now the design of the millennium gallery has been geared towards retail, a prescribed sterility and the finished product. The YOUTH FORUM [displayframe] is an opportunity to elevate the importance of the the design process and provide an exhibition showcase for innovative Sheffield artwork.

Structural purpose
The [displayframe]‘s function is not specific, instead the [displayframe] constitutes an adaptable, versatile framework that can accommodate a variety of uses.

Essentially, the [displayframe] must provide two essential functions; exhibition and storage space. The framework must be sufficiently flexible in order to accommodate different spatial requirements and agendas for use. A simple system of connectable components enables [displayframe] to be individually interpreted, transformed and expanded according to different situations and needs.

Construction essentials
For the [displayframe] to function effectively a logical relationship between person and activity must be ensued. The framework must work to a modular coordination for reasons of accessibility and adaptability. The [displayframe] must be built of a durable material that is sturdy when connected and easily reconfigurable in a short timeframe. A connection system must be devised so that the system is secure when fixed into position. A plug and socket system would be preferable, rather than a fixing of multiple parts. Individual components must be light enough so that they can be moved by one person, but strong enough to take the weight of a single person.

There is a vertical limit to the height of the structure. In this case it suggests the reaching height of an average sized person (i.e. 1925-2190 [men] and 1790-2020 [women]).

Maintenance and ownership
It is the Youth Forum that will take responsibility for and ownership of the [displayframe]. To ensure its longevity the [displayframe] must be durable, easily replaceable or fixed when damaged. A suitable and readily available, modifiable system and material is required.

Interventions

As part of our involvement with the Youth Forum, we today introduced the first of a variety of our own intervention to the Millenium Galleries, in an attempt to personalise a somewhat sterile environment. Using a roll of tape, the idea of work in progress is to create a buzz around the Youth Forum and to build anticipation to a planned joint exhibition of both the Youth Forum’s work along with our ideas for what the space could be.

Boxing

Studies into how the room can fold into itself and be stored in acoustic boxes within the space. These boxes act as sound dampeners and also look like spikey scandinavian fridges. Could be Available in IKEA Summer 2009 Collection.

‘Messiness’

One of the main things we extrapolated from the youth forum’s spatial animations was the ‘messiness’ of their ideas. We seem to have become obsessed with sleek, ‘designed’, sexy boxes; which is in stark contrast to the loose rough-and-ready approach of the youth forum.

This divide in approaches has triggered an interesting debate within the group as to how you design a space that can become messy…….How to design a framework for creativity?