Creative Urban Practice.

An artistic exploration into urban space.

The production of a series of digital screen prints to create opportunity for speculation on how terrain vague urban spaces are viewed.

The considered urban spaces are ‘terrain vague spaces’. These spaces are often under appreciated, or misunderstood. They are overlooked.

This project consists of a series of images to provoke the viewer to consider these ‘terrain vague spaces’ differently, to contemplate value in otherwise undervalued spaces.

The artistic process allows characteristics of terrain vague spaces to be revealed. Highlighting the spaces value, and prompting these spaces to become part of the city in a way that wasn’t previously considered.

The final output of the project is three series of art practice, digital screen print images, which challenge conventional readings of urban space. Each series draws attention to a key principle of terrain vague spaces evident across three studied sites.

The images use abstraction to allow for the displacing and realigning of knowledge to realign thought. Specifically, this is the realigning of logic from spatial knowledge to re-frame thought on urban space.

Printed editions at A0.

Clutha is one of Glasgow’s first bars and has long witnessed the development of Glasgow. Over the years, the disrepair brought about by history has become an obstacle to the development of Clutha, and many problems have gradually surfaced. The project will start with an in-depth analysis of the historical context of the site from the historical culture of the area where Clutha is located, and find the uniqueness of Clutah. While analyzing the regional conditions, the unique network of Glasgow’s music development was analyzed, making the project have a good internal music network system architecture and become the core of the new Clutha. Next, the project reconstructed the function and form of the building from each floor in turn, incorporating a richer space and Clutha’s unique musical attributes into a limited space, thereby building the new Clutah into an emerging music and cultural center in Glasgow.

Activating Edges and Shadow

Resolving the Western M8 Corridor in Glasgow

Glasgow’s City Centre has the majority of its area devoted to roads and parking. In order to prioritise social and spatial justice, Glasgow needs to manage its walkability, safety, sustainability and quality of public spaces and places. This is how the city will be able to tackle current challenges, as well as creating robust infrastructures which allow flexibility for future needs and uses.

The lack of quantity and quality of public spaces across the stretch in study creates a hostile place to be. The traffic of motor-vehicles dominates the surrounding areas, leaving pedestrians to dark underpasses or bridges, neither being DDA accessible. In order to enhance quality of life and attractiveness, Glasgow needs to promote healthy lifestyles through its surroundings. The control over noise and air pollution is also essential to create welcoming and pleasant spaces for people. Increasing the amount of open green spaces which also work as connectors between neighbourhoods could transform the city boundaries and shadows from hard & dead, to soft & vibrant places.

Could the activation of the M8 Motorway corridor in Glasgow resolve its unjust, segregated and car-dominated city fabric? This is the current thesis aim when activating the West M8 motorway corridor in Glasgow.

‘Edges’, through the knowledge from Kevin Lynch (1960), this author understands the M8 corridor as the fragmented edge of Glasgow, segregating and isolating neighbourhoods and uses. Therefore, when ‘activating edges’, new purposes and uses are introduced to the M8 corridor, ‘stitching’ the urban fabric and aiming to transform it into a uniting seam.
‘Shadows’, in this context, being the forgotten undercroft spaces from the M8 corridor, having the understanding of the great spatial qualities inherent to these spaces with the intention of also integrating them back to the urban fabric.

The research for this design project includes three main methods: expanding knowledge through key literature; analysing case studies; and utilising methods of engagement with citizens from the areas adjacent to the M8 corridor.

Important concepts from Henri Lefebvre (1971), Edward Soja (2010), David Harvey (2012), Richard Sennett (2006), Christopher Alexander (1977), Jane Jacobs (1961), Jan Gehl (2010) and Kevin Lynch (1960) have been noted. The case studies selected have similar physical settings to the current proposed site, which means, case studies of car-dominated barriers between neighbourhoods or between city and river. Lastly, a community engagement study gathering public opinion over urban settings was undertaken in Anderston, one of the neighbourhoods next to the M8 corridor. This study was made in partnership with the community centre ‘The Pyramid’ based in the same neighbourhood. This study utilised of an online map of the neighbourhood, where citizens could add comments at locations which they felt needed improvement. The project created by the Glasgow City Council called ‘Connecting Woodside’ was used as a key reference.

As a result of this investigation, this research found how important open spaces are to deliver greater justice within urban environments and how the human dimension should be a priority when coming to urban design. It also found how adaptability, flexibility in program, relationship to its surroundings and placing essential amenities are important to deliver density, and therefore diversity to the chosen site. Lastly, this design proposal has answered successfully, within its own means, the research question: yes, it is possible to achieve better justice, integration and pedestrian-friendly city fabric through the activation of the M8 Corridor in Glasgow.

However, there are points in which this proposal could be further developed. This author understands the need for deeper community involvement. The current research, due to COVID-19, could not deliver the full picture through its current methodology. This author also understands the degree of importance of topics such as gentrification and policies in order to truly deliver justice within cityscapes, therefore, further studies are necessary in order to implement this proposal to Glasgow’s urban fabric.

The most important point of urban building is its response to the urban environment, culture, and history. The main purpose of urban building is to better integrate the building into the surrounding environment, maintain the continuous urban streetscape, create attractive architectural spaces, while also contribute to the creation of a beautiful and harmonious urban environment.

This portfolio is mainly about the design of an urban building for health and well-being located on Clyde Street in the city center. Start from the urban background scale to the specific block scale, discussing the selection of site and the potential of the site. Then, by introducing the site research, analyzing the current problems of the site and possible causes, and providing certain solutions to these problems. These research lead to the selection of the program. Finally, combined with the analysis of the urban context, a design scheme is proposed.

Sushmitha Srihari is a Postgraduate student at Mackintosh School of Architecture. Through the work experience as an architect, she believes the built environment is the key element which shapes the city and its people. At GSA, she has been learning the concepts of Urban design and their applications in today’s world.

The research and design project is focused on urban issues such as i) tension between the future of markets as a city-wide ‘destination’ versus neighbourhood or local amenity ii) Importance of socialising space in the city. The research conducted shows the study of 19th C market building typologies in the UK and Socialising patterns or usage of markets in the daily lives of the people.

This project studied and combined sociological, historic and architectural research to envision one of the most complex spaces in the urban fabric – the market place. Each of these aspects can define and impact the local economy and trade as well as how public open spaces are perceived. The project is aimed to understand how to successfully regenerate the market place as a lively functional and economic community space in the urban setting.

‘Connecting New Centres for Tradeston & Laurieston’

How might hierarchy of urban form introduced into Glasgow’s gridiron diversify pedestrian movement and experience? is the question to the design project in Tradeston & Laurieston located across river Clyde in south-side of Glasgow city centre.

The non-hierarchical system gird has the overall similarity of sizes and visuals on most streets, which makes harder for pedestrians to perceive a sense of hierarchy and difficulties pedestrian movement.

In Consequence, the author believed a city without the sense of hierarchy of urban form reduces the diversified pedestrian experience.

Recognised by the street user, the quality of varied diverse experience of pedestrians because people remembering the image of identity of different places. Glasgow’s gridiron which is essentially a non- hierarchical urban pattern, lack of the hierarchy of urban form. Missing of the secondary and tertiary street, the city loss the opportunity to introduce more diversity in the street network.

The hierarchy allows for the great decision by the pedestrian when travelling from their location to destination. The variety of street types have corresponding building typology that enclosed the space between buildings.

This design project aims to investigate how pedestrian movement between two neighbouring districts of Tradeston and Laurieston in Glasgow has been affected by an existing grid-iron morphology.

The project introduces a hierarchy of urban form including central square with primary public buildings; primary streets, mid-block lanes to plays as shared space and building variety at the scale of the block into the Glasgow grid-iron system.

Reflection on the success of the design project will allow conclusions on the applicability of a similar method to the understanding and transformation of other locations of under-performing gridiron morphologies.

FRAMEWORK FOR A JAPANESE RITUAL

How does architecture facilitate ritual practice within the context of the Japanese archipelago? 

During Paul’s time in Japan he encountered many ritual practices, from daily activities to religious ceremony. Bathing to tea ceremony. As a result, he investigated elements of a design for a timber Bathhouse, not only the physical attributes of the construction [and making] but the philosophies and atmospheres, namely the metaphysical qualities, which underpin these Japanese spaces.

To gain an understanding of Japanese spacial concepts it was of value to draft using more Eastern illustrative devices. Traditional Japanese prints show an innate convention for the use isometric projection, which may be because of the orthogonal nature of Japanese traditional architecture. The lack of three- dimensionality in this method of drawing amplifies the quality of the space. In particular, he was inspired by the traditional isometric projections by traditional carpenters that he encountered during his travels, these simple line drawings honour the immense complexity involved in traditional timber building construction and the skill of the maker. Craft and complexity of draftsmanship, therefore, can be an implication of skill and complexity in craftsmanship.

Beyond this, through the process of physically producing each drawing in a sequence of subjective lines, the essence of craft became apparent. With each intersecting line, columns began to merge; interlocking like they were newly carved at a carpenters’ workshop.

The cities are looking to reuse their heritage buildings with new factions and purposes in order to give new life to these abandoned spaces. By using an area of the postgraduate diploma thesis that needed development this research aims to find methods and establish a better understanding about the use of interior spaces for the regeneration of heritage factory buildings by analyzing the work of Antony Gormley through his exhibitions Antony Gormley in Royal Academy of Art and Model in White Cube. The diploma thesis was located in the abandoned Can Ricart Factory in Poblenou, an old industrial area of Barcelona full of historic factories.

Using different mediums, this study analyses and determine knowledge from the work of Antony Gormley. Books, journals, lectures, videos, documentaries, research papers, diagrams, plans, and sections assisted this research with the appropriate knowledge. Structured in two sections, this research introduces the two shows of the artist, followed by their evaluation and comparison of the two with Can Ricart which assisted with strategies for the regeneration of the interior spaces of the factory.

Antony Gormley firstly studied archaeology, anthropology, and art history at trinity college, Cambridge. Then, he traveled to India which inspired his artistic theories. Afterward, he returned to England to continue his studies in art. In his studies, he focused on sculpture at the Central School of Art, Goldsmith’s College, and the Slate School of Art.

He is known for his artworks that explore the connection between the human body and its spatial surroundings. He wants to make you think about your position and the room you are in and in relation to his work. He says that ́art is no longer about power and privilege, but about participatioǹ. Most of his artworks are human figures, which he cast from his own body with various materials such as plaster, concrete, and iron. Some of Gormley’s works explore the relationship between old heritage sites or buildings, his contemporary artwork, and the viewers.  Few shows that explore this relationship are; Antony Gormley in Royal Academy of Art, London (2019), Sight in Delos Island, Greece (2019), Model in White Cube Bermondsey, London (2012-2013) and Still Standing at state Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (2011-2012).

This study investigates the following two shows, Antony Gormley (2019) and Model (2012-2013). His Royal Academy show was the most recent work by the time of the research and was easy to visit and explore. The Royal Academy show was in the Burlington House building which was built in 1868 by Sydney Smirke. The visit to the show took place on the 26th of October where a further understanding, observing, and sensing of his artworks occurred. On the other hand, the white cube show was in an old industrial warehouse which was build in 1970 and transformed by Casper Mueller Kneer in 2011 into a contemporary art gallery. The medium that was used for the understanding of the show was mostly through videos due to the fact that was ended in 2013. The two exhibitions were similar in overall spatial size that I want to explore for Can Ricart and both are placed within buildings.

The Antony Gormley show was held in the Royal Academy of Art and included a non-chronological retrospective artwork from the 45 years of the artist’s work. According to the artist, one of the goals of the show was to exploit the entire volume of the Royal Academy in a way that made the viewer’s journey through it exciting. One of the characteristics of this show is that there is no story behind but only the story of the viewer that brings with him.  According to Martin Caiger Smith, the show binds together Gormley’s most recent and previous work, which emphasizing on his general and continuing concerns on how we experience the elemental natural world, with who we are, as bodies moving through space and time, and how we relate to the man-made environment we have to create in our environment.

The Model show that was held in White Cube, testing the physical possibilities of the gallery space. This ambitious show investigates our experience of the body through architecture, and of architecture through the body. In this show, a dialogue between extension, expansion, and the scale of the body is taken as a variable throughout the installation of objects. Unlikely, the Royal Academy show here the viewer can choose the pathway he wants to take. Additionally, in this show, the artist uses weathering steel and iron for his artworks. The use of these materials unites the various sculptures and gives the impression of one continuous artwork.

The rapid development of the global civil aviation industry has led to a surge in the number of airports. Airport departure hall consumes a lot of energy throughout the year due to their large size, complex function, busy business and long operation time. Among other functions the energy consumption for artificial lighting and air conditioning is one of the main factors leading to high energy consumption in the terminal. Skylight lighting, as a common way of lighting, is also different from ordinary buildings when it is applied to departure halls. At the same time, there is a special relationship between the energy consumption of air conditioning and the energy consumption of daylighting due to environmental conditions in low latitudes, and skylight lighting has a better energy saving potential in low latitudes. In view of this, this paper studies and analyzes options of skylight design for a typical airport departure hall form and layout. Based on the study of the design of departure halls and the theory of natural lighting design, the elements of daylighting design of skylights of the departure hall are summarized, and the natural lighting effect of the three skylights are discussed.

The designer graduated from Master of fashion and textile in Glasgow school of art. With the main direction of silhouette design, her design is focusing on the relationship between human body and clothings and balancing traditional tailoring elements with dramatic design ideas to achieve the purpose of both wearable and conceptual design.

The name of the project is “Body in desire”, which came from the story of lustful people transformed into monsters in the anime “Devilman Crybaby”. Therefore, the designer used the change of human bodies in desire to combine with the elements from traditional tailoring jackets to present the influence from desire to human bodies by the hyperbole and abnormal silhouettes of the design work.

The designer thinks that everyone is equal in front of desire, there is no difference of gender, age, nationality and body shape, thus, she wanted to do gender less design with not only oversized clothings, but the garments structure that independent from human body, so the visual effect won’t be influenced by human body shapes. Therefore, all the datas came from different body shapes with various sized, height and genders, so the prototypes were also tried on various bodies to achieve the most balanced result.

Shanxu Cong, also called Vivien.

As a women’s wear designer, she is concerned about women’s freedom and protection, and she also explores the development of underwear style structure to convey women’s pursuit of free life attitude.

In her opinion, the sexiest moment of a woman is the moment when she comes home, takes off her clothes one by one and lies lazily in her delicate bedroom. With this in mind, she conducted an in-depth visual photographic investigation of the process of undressing.

This is the moment to show the beauty of the female body line, but it is not limited to age and figure. The structural change of folds is a good way to express these body lines. She loved the wrinkles, whether they were in the fabric of clothing or on human skin, and she didn’t see anything bad with them. Just like she loves everything about herself.

I created a new Collection with the interests and the feelings of mine which inspired by sound and silence and focused on the whole process of design through the studies at GSA. I became a surface led student and focused more on textiles in the whole year. I did much more textiles works than before and got much more than my expectation after the whole year studying in GSA. I explored the working method of fashion design and created my personal aesthetic.

I was inspired by the Artist, Film and Muse research project a lot. The muse in this project of mine is Brian Eno who works as a musician. Music gives me a fascinating world in my life, and I would like to create a relationship between music and clothes for a long time. So I was really excited to start this project. The project I was working on is to translate music and sound into garments. It was a pretty exciting project but with many difficulties, and I created a relationship among the sense of hearing and seeing by my own understanding of music and garments.

My project consists of three parts, sound part, visual part and the part of “sound” and “silence”. Throughout this project I undertaken  an in-depth research. In my previous project I took little time on research，so the outcomes were limited by my limited views. In this project I did research by the whole time in stage 1 and got much more than my expectation. So my work in stage 2 was making a selection of stage 1’s works to further my project, instead of continuing working difficultly with the limited ideas. I explored the sound materials and silent materials in stage 2, and I found flexible foam which is interesting to work with it on garments. It was my first time using an untraditional material on fabrics and it was an exiting start for my future projects.

There are some moments you can’t distinguish between reality and illusion. There are some blur and distant memories you are not sure they really happened or just imagination. Xiang Yu’s inspiration came from a sentence of French “Déjà vu”, it is the feeling that one has lived through the present situation before.

She explored her personal childhood memory photos and family photos, obfuscated and blurred them. Then she took a set of photos through long time exposure photography and partial lighting and extracted the blurred silhouette in these photos. She tried to twist and deform the loose and oversize garment inside by adding a slim and tied transparent vest outside to express the sense of blur. Meanwhile, she used a lot of hand sewing methods in this project. Such as running stitch and embroidery stitches, which are designed for decorated and seamed.

Yasmine Amani is a textile artist and expert embroiderer, specialising in hand embroidery and embellishments. In her work, she combines traditional hand intensive embroidery methods with contemporary and current concepts, aiming to entertain and captivate the viewer. She has previously worked on commissions for the BBC, including embellishing a jacket which was worn by Susan Calman on BBC Scotlands’ Hogmanay.

Inspired by iconography and the decorative opulence of Faberge eggs, Yasmine Amani’s Master’s project looks to turn the chicken into the icon of the 21st Century. Inspired by films such as ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Marie Antoinette’, she aims to reimagine the chicken with a new found sense of sophistication, glamour and grandeur.

Through a limited palette and material choice, subtle changes in the differing tones, weights, textures and transparencies of ribbon can be detected, echoing the beautiful plumage found in chickens. Influenced by designers such as Simone Rocha and Valentino, her fashion visualisations aim to manifest a sense of importance in its wearer.  With an emphasis on volume, her textiles are integral to mirroring the voluptuous qualities and plumage of the chicken, adding to the overall impact of the garment. Additionally, with the exclusive use of hand embroidery methods, she creates the look and feel of a sumptuous body of feathers throughout her collection, elevating the once humble chicken to a level beyond its popularity as meat.

Yasmine practices responsible methods in her work by using second-hand materials wherever possible, sourcing these through Ebay, charity, thrift and vintage shops. Additionally, by exclusively using hand embroidery methods in the making of her textiles, this excludes the need and use of machinery for the whole textile process. Furthermore, due to her style of embroidery, it would be hoped that the longevity of the item would span out many years and cherished by whoever it remains with.

Sa Cheng, also called Selah, is consider fashion is an art. It is a concept that can be interpreted in various ways for each individual, which, for her makes it fascinating – everyone has a different style. For some people, self-expression is difficult, having an individual style gives these people the ability to show their personality and beliefs and this intrigues her. Her interest in fashion has grown year after year through her development of expressing herself with different styles.

She always consider that beauty is not static and it can be displayed with different forms. What our designs convey most is our value. She is aiming to overthrow the traditional definition on fashion and provoke thinking of the real world in others’ mind through her designs. Structure is an important design element in her design, and different silhouettes are created through different permutations and combinations.

Her interest in fashion fuels her creativity and determination and she is excited to improve the technical skills she already has and to combine her love for fashion with knowledge of marketing and merchandising. She wants to delve deeply into the fashion world, increasing her growing curiosity and knowledge. The skills she has built on her own through her profound interest in the area and her skills.

By studying politics, she has a deeper understanding of the economy and its impact on fashion. For example, she found that due to a year of protests and demonstrations that led to a decline in Hong Kong’s economy, the overall profit of the fashion industry declined. This is very insightful because it reveals how the economic uncertainty of Hong Kong affects the fashion industry, and the fashion industry depends on consumer confidence and material demands. In addition, her research on philosophy helps she to understand human nature, so we are naturally eager to create art forms and make our ideas practical.

As a member of a generation who criticizes the indifferent and lack of inspiration, studying fashion is now more important than ever, because her determination to create timeless and influential things has become stronger and stronger. She thrive in a dynamic environment where she can reach her full potential, and she believes that the vision of becoming a major contributor to fashion will be realized by studying at university. Here, she will be able to fully cultivate her creative passion and finally realize herself.

Inspired by the shape and structure of architecture and influenced by the Bauhaus Movement, Carolina De Jesus designs and produces intriguing, colourful garments that are environmentally conscious.

Her work stems from the simple method of hand wrapping fine threads to create abstract layered shapes. She is fascinated by challenging the boundaries that arise when producing art formed from the winding of vertical and horizontal threads. The choice of threads and colour influences each shape to respond uniquely to the surrounding light, creating compositions with innovative shapes and three-dimensional effect.

Carolina continued developing resources and techniques to perfect this craft and also constructs commissioned wall art in a range of colours and sizes.

With the purpose to produce sustainable clothing in the forefront of her mind, she carefully mirrors this technique onto fabric by decisively cutting, folding and directing squares three-dimensionally.

These patched designs have traditional suggestions that emphasise its classical and timeless element. The patchwork technique clearly articulates Carolina’s personal design aesthetic, whilst creating opportunities to revive discarded fabric, in order to produce vibrant long-lasting clothing.

Currently, the fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries in terms of resources. Most brands launch new products at least twice a year or more. Garments are losing their value through time because popular trends are always changing. Chao’s designs are inspired by the traditional Japanese patchworking techniques, such as “Boro” and “Sashiko”. Those techniques link to the traditional Japanese aesthetic “Wabi-Sabi”, which embraces imperfection, incompleteness, and impermanent beauty. Chao uses “Boro” and “Sashiko” techniques and the concept of “Wabi-Sabi” to repurpose textiles, deconstructing and reconstructing garments to give new lives to old pieces of clothing. This practice can produce numerous designs, giving a new life and purpose to otherwise disregarded clothing.

Jiayi Cai was born in Guangdong Province, China. She studied fashion design and garment engineering in China before completing the Master of Design in Photography from Communication Design at the Glasgow School of Art.

After graduating from university, she decided to come to the UK to study fashion photography. In stage 1 and stage 2, she devoted herself to finding her visual language and working hard to learn to create narrative fashion photography works.

She works across disciplines, her practice is process-led, trying various methods and techniques to develop ideas. She likes to dig out the relationship between fashion and humanities and create emotional works on this basis.

Nina Klaff is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer currently based in London. Drawing from her background in digital anthropology and cultural analysis, her work addresses social issues in an experimental and evocative manner, with an ethereal aesthetic grounded in digital art. Her most recent Masters projects have revolved around the question of human connectivity in the age of social distancing. Her professional work includes portraiture, production photography for theatre and music, events, and creative writing and image-making for print and digital publications internationally.

Compared with the undergraduate study of visual communication in a comprehensive university, the postgraduate study of graphics in Glasgow School of Art has brought Renyu Tian a greater space to explore and professional perspective.

The exit of graphics is not limited. Renyu believes that the information conveyed by graphics is diversified and can be very personal. When expressing views on some social phenomena, such as the infodemic and the conceptual change of marriage to modern people, she is more inclined to start from her senses and feelings.

Rafaelle Fillastre is an illustrator and graphic designer. Collecting and reusing material, has been an ongoing theme in her works. It translated into her creative practice, which consist of playing around with different mediums and material to create striking visuals. Her main focus has been on printed narrative works, mixing editorial design and illustration. She has been interested in associating different technics and mediums to create hybrid projects such as augmented reality and animation on printed works.

During her studies at The Glasgow School of Art, her studio works are linked with the concept “hidden”, “lost” and “erased”. Working on abandoned buildings around Glasgow, overlooked women artists in history and various form of censorships. She is interested in historical and social led themes. For her projects, she’s focused on visual storytelling, to create an interaction and reaction from the user to the object.

For her next steps, she wants to expand her practice into a more digital practice, such as coding and interactive design.

Prior to joining the Glasgow School of Art, she graduated in 2019 from Estienne (ESAIG), with a Bachelor in Design and Packaging as well as printing technician course. During her studies, she completed several internships as a graphic designer at Extreme Agency and Netgem.

Pauline Levy is a French multidisciplinary Graphic Designer, currently based in Paris. Keen on experimentation, she explores different mediums such as sculpture, drawing, and photography, and plays with materials and colours, as part of the research process. Publications are often the outcome of her projects, because of her high interest in Editorial and Type design, discovered during her bachelor degree in Art Direction at Penninghen (Paris). Meanwhile, her passion for Dance, and more widely performing arts, led her to focus on movements, space, and body. Feet were her main interest of studies during this year, bringing her to a developed and various reflection presented through two different supports: a publication and a dance performance. At the moment, the dance performance is presented as a score, and will evolve into a video, in collaboration with some dancers. Next steps for her are to increase collaborative and interactive projects, in the dance field in particular, and to discover more in Type and Set Design.

I am a multidisciplinary artist utilising skills in Film Making, Photography and Visual language as my primary method of storytelling. Adhering to an underlying ethical code within my practise is a required part of acting responsibly as an artist, designer and a consumer, something I needed to be keenly aware of, given the sensitive nature of my work. This is no longer a choice or privilege, but a commitment everyone carries with their actions and Communication Design challenges me to ensure these values are upheld.

For the film “Mektub” I followed the animal welfare organisation “Ims’one Project” based in Morocco who seek to vaccinate, sterilize, tag and release street dogs as well as house the most vulnerable in the region. The documentary highlights the general situation facing street dogs in Imsouane, Morocco, and the attempts by local animal welfare organisations to introduce legislation combating the inhumane mass culling by authorities as an attempt to control their population. Woven alongside the issues facing dogs is also the personal portrait of Fran Belle, founder of “Ims’one Project”. Fran has to care for them as humanely as possible with limited resources, relying often on little more than her own relentless determination and immense self sacrifice.

Xiaoxin Wang is an illustrator and visual designer from China. She is currently working as a freelance illustrator. She explores the use of comics to tell stories about what happens around her. She uses irony and humor to take us into a surreal space. Her work aims to give the reader an emotional identity. She was shuttling back and forth between reality and the surreal.

Xiaoxin graduated from Hubei Institution of Fine Arts with a degree in Visual Communication Design before completing her GSA master’s degree.
“My works focus on the study of all kinds of emotions brought by the society. Through the observation of the people around me, I find that some of the pressures brought by the community are very subtle by looking at these stories and adding some emotional content. It is the most exciting thing to let the work wander between the real and the surreal. “

THE AMAZON IS ON FIRE. SAVE AMAZON.

In recent years, Coronavirus, Australia fire, dramatic temperature change and amazon rainforest destruction rate have returned to their peak. The frequent occurrence of disasters on earth made me start to think about human beings and the environment. How to balance the relationship between human and nature? How can the situation of the “future” not be worse than that of the present?

My topic is about the deforestation of Amazon rainforest. The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest increased 30.5% in 2019 from the previous year, while deforestation rose 85%, according to recent data released by Brazil’s space research agency INPE. The Amazon rainforest is far away from our lives, but its roles the lungs of the earth. Where would we be without it? My project is to make a publication–THE AMAZON IS ON FIRE( bilingual edition in Chinese and English)–to make more people aware of Amazon rainforest.

“The Fire” does not only fire in the Amazon rainforest but more importantly, the amazon is in a state of emergency and need of rescue right now.

Yu Xie is a photographer from China. His works focus on how do we look at the current social situation and its impact on individuals? We re-examine our way of life from the perspectives of individuals, habits, groups, urban structures, international news, etc. Explain, embody, analyze and criticize what is applicable to the individual’s emotions, the connection with the group, and how the individual can explore and respond to the next potential crisis in the context of the individual or the relationship between the individual and the urban development.

INNER CITY

In this project, he initially focused on an exploration of the ubiquity of architecture and urban objects within the city. Through constructed image making his project has morphed into a wider critique of how we see cities and the symbols within them. The images explore liminal or transitional spaces and their meanings are interpreted through his subjective perspective. His hope is that the viewer looks at the world he have constructed, and sees a world of absurdity, fiction, reality and fantasy. Something that is both familiar and unfamiliar, unnerving and uncanny. An inner city born of my observations and imagination.

Normal

After the covid 19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic, the whole world seemed to stop, but in the wider expanse of history, what has felt like forever, has in reality been just a few short months. Time did not stand still. His life and the world changed quietly. His room effectively became his world as he gradually crepts towards his new normal. This normal was uncertain but not unfamiliar. The objects and space were effectively the same, but how he viewed them had changed. Through his camera he sought to try and make sense of his surroundings and state of mind. Using primarily still life, his photographs look for clues and explore metaphor through the daily narration of his new normal life.

Yining Fang is an interior designer who has 2 years of retail design experience (Tesla, Gap, Nike) and now doing a master degree in Interior Design at GSA School of Design. She cares about the natural ecological environment, has high sensitivity and response-ability to the environmental issue. She is good at expressing the concept of works through various media. In terms of skills, she is proficient in various drawing skills and has a certain extent graphic design ability.

The Isolated Island

Introduction

This Research Project will be mainly focusing on the topic of the changing marine environment: How the living spaces of the marginal people in the super coastal cities will change step by step, and take the palimpsest as the carrier, to record this possible “history”, which is 80 years long. This research project will focus on the period from 2020 to 2100 when the sea level will gradually rise by 8m. When this climate crisis becomes more severe and affects the Shikumen community’s life, these changes are what this project most interested in: how are they preserved in the form of memory? Shanghai Shikumen is interesting as the product of the times and it has sufficient content to be explored.

Methodology

This project first used the resident interview. The interview brings an overall comprehension about the living environment in the Shikumen community, most people lived here for generations, and their differences in the acceptability of technology or other new things are striking. Some participants were nostalgic, while others are determined to abandon the obsolete products and follow the trends. It can also extend to their attitude and storage approach towards past memories. Apart from that, when they were asked about the repair history, almost everyone mentioned the government /housing management departments seek only superficial harmony but avoid inner chaos.

The second methodology is the theory study about archaeology and palimpsest. Susanna Bortolotto mentioned that archaeological reading is a valuable tool, which can not only re-evaluate existing hypotheses but also provide a clear direction for further investigation in order to propose a more optimized scheme for preservation and renovation of modern ruins；And emphasize the complexity of iteration during the building development, which can be linked to the notion of palimpsest. Ancient people used a unique approach to erase words written on parchment to provide space for new text, so they keep covering the new layer on the existing one. After a thousand years, old layers have emerged rapidly, then formed palimpsest. Besides, this term is also used in the architecture field. People continually alter the structure of the original building for various incentives, and these changes would be recorded as the structure changes. In design practice, the notion of palimpsest could be reflected in both outcome and methodology.

Design Process
This project proposed a fictional Shikumen house. Based on Isozaki’s theory in his book “unbuilt”, this project assumed 4 phases, present (2020); City in the air (2050); Computer-aided city (2080); Fictional & mirage city (2100), and imagine the possible changes in each period.

Outcome
A 10mins long animation has been produced. The story is in 2130, for the new documentary “When the Water Come”, Noah, the compere, come to Shanghai to interview Lee4, the last guardian of Shikumen community, and tried to explore some memories which would soon disappear.

Significance
The significance of this project is to present a new possible scenario from a more realistic perspective, show the possibility of memory being spatially recorded as a palimpsest, emphasize the importance of preserving the existing building. Meanwhile, its experiment with the potential of section drawing.

Bibliography

Ballard, J. G, The Drowned World (New York: Liveright Pub. Corporation, 2013).

Bortolotto, Susanna and others, Learning From The Building: Direct Sources For The Preservation Project. The Experience Of Besozzo’s Town Hall, 1st edn (Milano: Researchgate, 2011) <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267843189_Learning_from_the_Building_Direct_Sources_for_the_Preservation_Project_The_Experience_of_Besozzo%27s_Town_Hall_Varese_Italy> [Accessed 8 August 2020].

Isozaki, Arata, Unbuilt, 1st edn (Tokyo: TOTO, 2001).

Lambert, Léopold, “A Palimpsest Called Paris | DAMN° Magazine”, DAMN° Magazine, 2015 <https://www.damnmagazine.net/2015/01/05/a-palimpsest-called-paris/> [Accessed 9 August 2020].

View the complete portfolio:

https://issuu.com/home/published/the_isolated_island__research__-_yining_fang

https://issuu.com/home/published/the_isolated_island__design_process__-_yining_fang

AN ARTISTIC RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT SCENARIO OF PANDEMIC-INDUCED,  ISOLATION & INTROSPECTION.

A new design methodology based on pure elements which re-imagines the domestic interior as a santuary which is sensually and spiritually uplifting. 

Julia Sagias is a Scottish interior designer and artist from Glasgow. In 2020 she completed the Masters of Design in interior design. She has a first class degree in history of art from the University of Glasgow and is a practising artist based in the Southside of the city. Julia is a determined individual, having left a career in the cultural sector to study at the GSA and set up her creative business, Julia Clare Interiors. With a background in art and design theory, she has a strong conceptual approach combined with the artistic skills to apply her research, implementing a variety of artistic techniques including drawing, sketching and painting. She takes a concientous approach to the environment through the use of upcycling and natural materials.

Through her time at GSA Julia addressed issues such as emotional wellbeing experienced through the phenomenology of ambience, materials, spatial composition and colour of the interior space. This project, entitled  CONCEPTUAL AMBIENCE is a direct reponse to the current experience of perpetual, pandemic-induced isolation and introspection.  She was inspired to imagine the poetic ambience, form and materiality of the domestic interior which culminated in the redesign of the site of her own lock-down, her home.

Detailed through an in-depth exploration of form, colour, texture and space, and with a theoretical background based on the Classical and Modernist concept of Purism, this project demonstrates a way to create order and wellbeing through the layering of elemental form and colour and the careful arrangement of mass and surface. CONCEPTUAL AMBIENCE is a manifesto and methodology; an applied design language consisting of pure, geometric elements and a colour book of 30 earth-based colours and pure metals. The outcome is the creation of an interior programme inspired by Greek architecture and Le Corbusier’s Modernist interpretation of this typology.

Julia’s creative experiments include 3D digital modelling as well as sketching, and sculpting textural surface and form with gypsum and clay,  painting and gilding. This warm, serene aesthetic is a space which prioritises the private realm and interprets it as a sanctuary, with free-flowing movement between bedroom, bathroom and changing room and a continuous visual sequence throughout the house in an open-plan layout and atrium. As per the concept of the Total Work of Art, the layering of a unifying colour design, texture and form throughout creates a sense of balance, order and harmony. The result is a poetically ambient and emotionally therapeutic space which makes domestic isolation a calming and enriching experience.

Rui Liu is a motivated interior designer who graduated from civil engineering and worked as a junior engineer for 2 years. During the year of studying interior design in GSA, I not only gained a new understanding of interior design but also came into contact with various ideas and concepts, which deepened my passion for exploring interior design.

Speculative design is the most important part of what I have learned here. It reminds me that design is not just a problem-solving tool, it can also ask questions to make people think. In my postgraduate study, I tried to incorporate this concept into my project.

‘The fear and worries about death is natural but not rational.’
——Epicurus

For the stage3 project, I chose death, a topic that people don’t want to discuss, as my theme. After research, I found that death in the city has many negative effects on us. For example, the environmental pollution and waste of resources caused by the disposal of the remains, the separation of the living and the deceased caused by traditional death-related activities, and the biases caused by our attitude towards death, etc. Based on these, I tried to conceive a new type of dead space that can solve these problems. It can not only meet the basic needs related to death but also provide people with a space to think about death and connect with the public.

The final site of this project is located in the park of each city, shortening the physical distance between the living and the dead. Focusing on underground space saves land resources, and changes the traditional funeral and commemoration methods while increasing the space for public service. In terms of the atmosphere, this space appropriately deprives people of the perception of space to provide people with more thinking space and possibilities. Everyone has their own different opinions on the final thinking of death, and this space provides such a place and opportunity for thinking.

Remember， we will die 🙂

(here is a PDF below which is a short story combined with renderings, hope you enjoy.)

A FRICTIONLESS SOUND THEATRE

In countries with Covid-19 outbreaks, retails are being impacted with decreasing footfall, supply chain disruption, and a noisy digital landscape in which to communicate brand messages. The challenge that retailers now face is how to stimulate meaningful consumption as people self-isolate at home. So, they are developing new products and services that engage consumers from the comfort of their own homes. Business researchers from Frame Magazine argue that If retailers are to recover after lockdown lifts, it will only be through creating their premises not just as experiential play areas, but also as reliable and clear safe ports. Thus, this research’s aim is exploration of different scenarios of future retails that includes the experience-seeking and hyper-hygiene-conscious as key elements in the configuration of retail spaces.

Several methods using film and reading materials will be explored in order to analyze historical context which associate the retail spaces and understand how people have arrived at today’s pivotal point of retail. For framing future scenarios, Nike, H&M and other brand stores will be considered as case studies. Because they act as models for rising new trends. For example, H&M are redesigning stores to double as logistics hubs for online shopping and strengthen the role that supply chains, logistics and fulfilment play in their brand identities.

Understood in these manners, Brands need remodeling the customer experience to fit new online formats, as interactions increasingly bolster transactions, digital experiences, emotive technology and new definitions of loyalty will continue to transform the way brands and consumers connect.

Finally, the research concludes that as Covid-19 amplifies the role of digital commerce and accelerates sustainable consumption, retail’s focus is shifting from transactions to service. Now, consumers will demand more meaningful engagement and emotional interactions. Above all, it must be a chance to underscore those sustainability strategies and respond to consumers’ re-ignited interest in sustainable living as Covid-19 positively affects how much we are doing and on what.

My name is Chrissie Jacquet, I am a Franco-Scottish designer interested in the conservation of period buildings, as well as slow and sustainable design. That is why I chose the Egyptian Halls as my theatre of experimentation for this project. The purpose was not only to design a space for sustainable makers and craftspeople but also to question the sustainability of my practice. The project therefore acts as a manifesto for sustainability.

“The Monster At Our Door”: Space as Medical Instrument Against Infectious Diseases

Mike Davis points out in his book The Monster At Our Door that, one of the reasons why infection has become a “global threat” to people is space. We are too close to the sources of infection. Modern infectious diseases have become a spatial problem. If a kind of infectious disease can be regarded as a kind of space, space becomes a strategy for controlling pandemic as a general prescription or a functioning medical instrument. Based on it, this project aims to highlight the spatial duty of keeping down the virus spread and preventing infectious diseases.

The whole research focuses on the medical effect space can provide to explore a kind of disease-free and heterotopias space through investigating the relationships between medicine and architecture, and disinfection measures space can provide. Combined with scientific and social issues, space demonstrates its medical potential to be speculated as a post-pandemic experiment.

During the lockdown period, supermarket delivery is the main way to get food and daily necessities in quarantine, however, it shows an insufficiency in transportation resources and concerns about food safety management. So, medical space is narrowed to a supermarket to be redefined and promoted as an essential example. The space, as a medical instrument, is constructed based on the healthy features to approach the medical effect, and filled with disinfection surveillance and examination. The aerial view of this construction is like an X-ray film to show body fragments.

In order to balance minimized human contact and shopping experience, a variety of mechanical devices preserving visual, olfactory, and tactile channels for the customers are designed to realize automation. Modular construction is applied because of its convenience and ease of promotion. A material language of white concrete, antiviral copper alloy and glass became standard issue in order to create hygienic, antiviral, and easy-to-clean surfaces.

Bio

Interior Design is the study of the interaction between people and space, which is easier to be combined with social, environmental, and human activities. A product, a performance, and an event are all included in it, which gives me a lot of room to play. As a designer, I wish to improve the traditional indoor environment with the development of modern technology, provide artistic resonance through interaction with space, and find undiscovered stories in urban space.

Key skills: Photoshop, Illustrator, SketchUp, AutoCad, Rhinoceros

Urszula is a multidisciplinary designer-maker with background in film and photography who is currently based in Glasgow.

She graduated with BA(Hons) in Interior Design from The Glasgow School of Art in June 2019 and continued her education at Master level. 

Some of her interests include mid-century furniture, brutalist architecture and exhibition design. Her approach to design focuses on experimentation and playfulness aiming for bold, minimal yet multilayered outcomes. 

The undertaken project explores the potential of adaptive reuse of architectural structure, a brutalist car park located in the centre of Glasgow, by integrating new technologies in proposed new function of an exhibition space.

The research focused of hyperreality and digital technologies in context of contemporary art and design practice and how these can positively affect the physical spaces of a building and allow for effective and multidisciplinary user experience. Extensive examination of contemporary practitioners allowed for forming possible visual outcomes of proposed multisensory environment. Experimentation with various digital interfaces was concluded in speculating exciting, multi-layered environment.

Exploration of the chosen architectural space resulted in proposal focused on flexibility and adaptability of a space and allowed to form a narrative that takes into the account the original function of the building.

Appling digital technologies combined with temporary special design allowed for the dialog between the space’s digital and physical elements that have a possibility to be adapted to a variety of architectural typologies.

Aastha Bangia is a young motivated architect and designer from New Delhi, India. During her five-year long bachelors in architecture, her design process and research always mainly focused on exploring the gender-neutral aspects of spaces. She staunchly believes that the most important element that has to be considered in any space is the “user” and thus, a well-designed space evolves from consideration of emotions of the user. Since a space consists of various aspects ranging from physical elements such as form, furniture, texture etc to environmental – such as light, temperature etc, each element we add knowingly or unknowingly has a directly proportional impact on the users that occupy the space. The balance between these elements and the interaction amongst them needs to be maintained in order to gain the optimum output/experience of the space.

This can even be seen in her recent GSA Stage 3 Research Project where she investigates the idea of a completely new domestic setting that challenges as well as questions the orthodox norms, stigmas and functionalities assigned to our everyday life spaces. Her project aims to highlight the fundamental aspects and characteristics that make a space optimum, gender-neutral or balanced, and positive in terms of experience all pertaining to interiors. Some may call it a “feminist approach”, while the research aims to coin it as a more “holistic” approach towards designing spaces.

She explores the possibilities of merging the exteriors and interiors. The side concept focuses on the “bringing the outside indoors” and blurring the idea of these “boundaries” to some extent. This is done for the following reasons:
1. Metaphorically, if the outside world is considered for men and the indoors for women, what would happen if one can’t differentiate between the two?
2. It has been scientifically proven by various psychologists and designers that the closer one is to nature, the happier they are. This raises the question of what would happen if the blurring of these two mediums leads to a more positive user-experience and a healthier mental state for the ones occupying this space?
Discussions have been made regarding the influence of individual physical entities of an interior space (like color, texture, form, empty spaces, etc.) and the attributes that make it “gender-neutral”. Individual effect of each factor on human emotions must be taken into account for creating better user experiences.

This project is just an attempt at using all this knowledge and exploring a design possibility that is free of any bias. The sole purpose is to generate awareness about the importance of interiors to be both emotionally friendly and gender friendly. As designers of the new era, it becomes our responsibility to create spaces that are more sensitive in all aspects. Thus, both emotions and gender inclusive design that encourages its users becomes a paradigm that should become the linchpin of any construction. A need for development of an intervening set of design tools which will facilitate by providing step-by-step information, guidance and direction is highlighted through this project.

There is a need to adjust the physical layout of a standard video game controller for users with accessibility issues. I designed a controller that users can take apart and rearrange components so that they fit the user’s desired layout.

Additional faceplates can be purchased (or 3D printed) which would offer a wide range of input layouts for users. To accommodate all ranges of ability, the entire controller can be taken apart and re-assembled with one hand.

The idea behind this product is that it would become a new standard for video game controllers. New consoles would be bundled with the controller, and able-bodied gamers would be able to use it without any problems, as it features a regular layout and shape.

My Design Process Journal documents my journey from concept generation to the final product. The Technical Report provides an analysis on the feasibility of this project.

I am a MSc Product Design Engineering student originally from Toronto, Canada. I have a bachelor’s degree in Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo and over 3 years of work experience as a Software Developer and Systems Engineer. Before starting my master’s degree at the Glasgow School of Art, I spent the past year and a half leading a cross disciplinary design team – specializing in designing websites, mobile and desktop applications. It was during this employment that I found myself more interested in design and user experience.

For my MSc Major Project, I worked in collaboration with the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery to develop a museum display case to tackle the issue of displaying light-sensitive objects in the presence of natural light. Through stakeholder discussions and a user centered design approach, the Setaka Smart Display was created. The final product uses two types of smart glass technology as well as an integrated IoT system to protect artifacts from both natural and UV exposure.

More examples of my past project can be found at: https://www.thanuree-pathiranawasam.net/

If you are looking for full time hires for September 2020, be sure to email me at: tppathir@gmail.com

Daniel graduated with a 2.1 in Aero-Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in 2018, before spending a year working as a freelance photographer, videographer and visual artist in Glasgow’s thriving punk and alternative rock music scene. Having had work commissioned by or featured in a range of editorials including Noisey, NME, Dork, The BBC, Dr. Martens and many more, Daniel made the decision to return to university for the Product Design Engineering postgraduate MSc. course at GSA, allowing him to combine his passion for design and creativity with his already established academic ability in engineering.

While studying at GSA, Daniel has developed a focus on user-centred design, with a particular interest in user experience. Throughout the first semester of study, he contributed a crucial role on Teamentia, in the development of the Remelodies project. This project centred around carers for, and sufferers of dementia, finding a way to remove the clinical element from their pre-existing relationships, be that husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and son, two friends or any other possible combination. The project received notable praise from an expert, a Glasgow based dementia events co-ordinator, who was consulted throughout the project and later was highly commended in the SIE Fresh Ideas competition.

Daniel’s major project also centred around user experience, this time with the aim of finding a way to minimise the disadvantages faced by dyslexic students in education on account of their lesser reading rate when compared to their non-dyslexic peers. The final design solution (the Minstrel) is an audiobook reader with an enhanced user experience, allowing users; improved navigational controls, improved feedback on progress through a text, a method of highlighting from an audiobook and a way to avoid their place being lost should they lose focus on the audio-narration. Three diagnosed dyslexic students and one expert, a product design engineering lead from Rakuten Kobo, were consulted throughout the project. The final design solution was commended as an intuitive solution with solves a major problem.

My product, the InnerStrength body protector, aims to deal with the issue of impact injuries in amateur cricket. Within the context of modern batting, where the hard ball is hit powerfully more often, an opportunity was identified for a product that provides torso protection for both batting and fielding. The product (although of use to all cricketers) is targeted towards less-experienced players, with the aim of reducing the anxieties and vulnerabilities associated with facing fast, short bowling, and fielding close to a power hitting batter. The growing popularity of women’s cricket influenced the decision to have different gendered versions of the product in terms of size, especially as the so-called unisex gear on the market is often not an ideal fit (although more work needs to be done to further tailor the design for women cricketers).

The design process took a lot of unexpected detours, whether finding inspiration from spacesuits or the impenetrable skin of honey badgers, it was exciting to apply knowledge and ideas from a wide range of areas and apply it to the greatest sport in the world (cricket). The challenge of creating body protection was made harder due to the context of use including both batting and fielding – the full range of body motions to consider, from full length diving to vertical jumps, are too long to list.

Thankfully, throughout the process the GSA inspired human centred design techniques learned over a year of intensive study helped greatly in solving the small, medium and large problems that inevitably arise within a 12-week design time frame. The Design, Build, Test philosophy, allowed me to explore a range of design concepts efficiently and make calculated evaluations which ultimately fuelled the direction of the final product. This approach and the methods involved, is definitely something I hope to take forward into a career of design.

My major project, RIPPLE, is a dynamic cushion with incremental haptic feedback for sedentary behaviour. It could trigger the user to get up from seat regularly through the gradually rising bumps from its surface. Compared to the current way of reminding (such as phone alarm), this kind of ambient feedback is likely to interrupt the workflow of the user.

To achieve this function, I developed a non-electrical structure with air cell, flow control valve and foam spring. When the user sits on it, the seat will drop with the air released slowly. After a certain time, the seat will contact the bumps, which provide an incremental stimulation to the user. After the user gets up, the air cell will rebound with the foam spring inside, inflating air and return to the original height.

Current prices of prosthetic legs cost between £3,000 to £50,000. For adults, a new prosthetic leg is needed every 2-5 years. Furthermore, lower limb amputees normally have several legs for different purposes. Amputees spend an average of £100,000 extra in their lifetime compared to non-amputees due to their limb loss and adaptations to their lifestyle.

Prosthetic feet are mass manufactured products, which are usually still expensive. Patients don’t usually get feet which are optimal for their biomechanics due to lack of analysis and budget constraints on clinics.

3D printing has been at the forefront of prototyping for many years now, but it has seldom been used in final production. For my final project, I explored opportunities where 3D printing could be used as an actual manufacturing solution. 3D printing is a solution that can lower the cost of prosthetic feet, whilst also tailoring each foot to the patient, leading to better walking mechanics and rehabilitation. This project explores a workflow that can be conducted to quickly adjust a foot framework for each patient to suit their individual needs.

Product design engineering has allowed me to apply my technical skills from my traditional mechanical engineering degree to solve problems through design. Moving forward, I am excited to continue developing my skills in design engineering and I’m actively seeking roles or research opportunities in mechanical design.

I have always had a natural urge to find and attempt to solve problems. I have this desire to just try and make things a wee bit better, which can be frustrating, but I believe it’s healthy.

I completed my undergraduate course in Production Engineering and Management at Strathclyde University. After giving a strong foundation in engineering and design, this course then focused on optimising manufacturing systems, and process improvement. I have worked with various manufacturing companies, from the automotive industry to the drink industry.
However, I was always an extremely creative child – constantly drawing and painting. I started to realise that I was missing something, as I wasn’t able to find many ways to be creative in manufacturing. I began to recognise there may be a way to remedy this, as well as advancing my prior education. This Product Design Engineering course has, I believe, come at just the right time. It has allowed me to further develop skills I already possessed, as well as open my eyes to aspects of design I could never have imagined.

This course has given me the confidence to say that, if you put any situation at all in front of me, I can come up with some kind of improvement. From using empathy, being able to make connections, find a root cause, problem solve, co-create with users, ideate and rapidly create concepts, and build, test and iterate, I now have this box of tools that I will carry with me.

All I hope is that I keep moving forward. As it is the process of identifying problems and finding creative solutions that I enjoy, I am not fussy about a particular company, industry, or direction – so long as the ethos of the space I end up working in aligns roughly with my own.

Hi there! I’m Becca Ferguson and I have just completed my MSc in Product Design Engineering through the joint program between the University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art. After receiving my bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Colorado School of Mines, I went on to work for 4 years as a software engineer before joining this program.

For my final project I decided to merge a few of the things I enjoy in life – the outdoors, sustainability, and challenging puzzles. As a result, my project focused on improving the environmental impact of outdoor bouldering gear. User interaction and feedback (another favorite of mine) directed my project towards improving the lifecycle of bouldering shoes through application of circular design principles. Ultimately, the design selected was a completely biodegradable beginner bouldering shoe partially comprised of waste materials from other industries.

In solidarity with those embroiled in complaints against GSA we present a collaborative piece of writing that came about as part of a conversation responding to Fred Moten and Stefano Harney’s text ‘The university: last words’ and our own experiences of the institution.

This text is available to listen to as a special edition of the Art Writing Soft Shell podcast here.

///
     hang on can’t hear back in a sec
Radically detach
Rejecting the gowns the dress
I think just stop paying
the feedback is the grades / collective feedback takes its place
If we accept
experience economy
Access to your peers
in a pragmatic way
undermine value of credential
What is required
Using the university as a hermit crab shell
university as hermit crab shell
university as a hermit crab shell
occupy
carapace
Any kind of shell
something useful that can be carried off
steal from the university
Access to each other
beep
you’ve all been expelled
refusing
refusing to end
Refusing the discipline
sticky question
extracted as currency
extracted from you as the university’s currency
Submit awful work
Do your best work in secret amongst each other
do your best work in secret
then you lick it
the university as guard of resource
University as guard to be undermined
break down barriers of access
Disperse them outwards
I can let anyone into a zoom
physical barriers
Robin Hood it
What they hold
authorship
people on the inside giving away for free
Intellectual property
how are those entangled
Property ownership authorship
property ownership authorship
Collective authorship
complicity
Talked out of it by submission
voices that join in with each other
hierarchy of work
Work rises
hierarchy of work
What it means to have an art practice
arts ed capitalises on “my work”
the privilege of being paid to work/research
academics rise
Individuality of submissions
Read by a higher reader
even if working as a collaboration
the individuality of submissions
can’t submit as one
Property–>value
the labour isn’t equivalent
From the beginning we are learnt to say ‘my practice’ ‘my work’
You go in holding this thing
disrupt and defer
the language of “my practice”
a practice of individuation
language of practice is the language of funding applications
we don’t present without names
We don’t present nameless
Naming as a form of violence
naming as ossifying
fixing to commodify
Acknowledgement as first step
Overcoming our complicity
my work/my practice,
What could it become
many many terms
Different ways to conceptualise it and put it into language
what role does language have in all of this
a manifesto
manifesto as movement to a different language
language of movement of criticism
Instead of floating through it
what we understand collectively
our own our practices
maybe just not paying
if you’ve got a problem you assume there’s a specific solution to that problem
Step outside – the potentials get bigger
meet in the car park
Stepping around the problem
increasing surveillance of students
Restriction of access
ways to work around that
movement around the campus is documented
Not a given that that’s okay
surveillance – it’s not a given that that’s ok
you start at group and end at solo
whole artist trajectory is group show towards solo show
start at group and end at solo
Art – start in group move to solo / it’s all pushed that way / it’s a tradition – proponent of larger apparatus of making solo
a larger apparatus of making solo
Abolish the solo show!
(Dorothea Lange, at her big moma retrospective, insisted on including her assistant’s work in it)
Presented to a student, to take part in – take part, scoop
student paying for the conversation / staff being paid to ‘give the conversation | taking part is the language of the university
Conscientious and active students paying
often not lines defined by the students themselves
this weird accountability thing
Its not a mutual thing
staff student ‘relationship’
the beginning of being solidified
We’re in the beginnings of being solidified
the early fizzy stages
it didn’t feel fun anymore
The work, my work, a unit of work
play
Resisting articulation or end
the structures that make things not fun anymore
Sustained practice (SH)
fun and play as subversive strategies
What about anger
what about anger
Anger within play
Play assumes we’re happy
where is anger within play
an indulgence
pastoral care as pull / indulgent
someone to care what you’re doing
you can’t show anger bc you’re getting pastoral care
It puts you in a clinch
play as in mess with it
Other ways to be antagonistic within the structure
it ultimately benefits the uni
Never made the actual work
withheld the work
benefited the course – won prizes
To not make the final product
it is very slippery
that’s not really the fucking point
The inconvenience of anger
the inconvenience of anger and of not playing
Of not giving back
Inconvenience of giving something back that’s not palatable
Not playing
Not user friendly
how do people think it’s different and why
remove reference to it
The institution are uncomfortable so trying to remove reference to them / keep it in house
the idea of looking back
Alumnus are used
alumnus – they let themselves be used
that doesn’t make any sense chronologically
University relying on complacency on a more giant body of students
university relying on complacency of larger body of students
like business does
I’ve just got to get through this
the individuation of it
I’m gonna carve this time out
I’m going to carve this time out
the sacrifices people have made
the sacrifices people have made
money/time
Relies on the sacrifices
A bind
competition, apathy
Some people aren’t in a position to reject it
powerless within that
to be in a specific place
What can we do as a group to disrupt or reject that
on a day to day basis
habitual things
Habitual actions
What habitual things over a long term force change
the privilege to be able to protest
the privilege to be able to protest
it’s about access as well
access to these thought processes
Access to these discussions
organising outwith the institution
Brief moments of interactions have sometimes been more worthwhile than 2 hr seminars
that spontaneous conversation that arises
the stuff that’s around the institution the para
is probably most valuable
The stuff that’s around the institution /the para part of the institution
Those spaces, they’re spontaneous
there’s something and it’s a bit sideways
make the structure make less sense
Let it go let it stop being property
how you articulate where your position in the university is
How you articulate what your position in the university is
what agency or organisation could look like
Let the property go
can ‘an organisation’ not have property
divert you from your aims are usually the three p’s: property, prestige, power
digital exclusion
Who’s left behind
The shifts that have had to happen
Necessary adaptation
false sense of agency
fob us off
Property when it’s not investment
property when it’s not investment
GAS – things are housed there
can an organisation or an institution be a free entity if it doesn’t have property?
keeping that space safe
is the issue not with the property but who controls the use of the property?
How do you make an open and radical accountability process?
a radical accountability process
those issues come up very much in the virtual space
not as free as the university would like you to believe
Property is theft
property as a thing or a space that can be collectively owned
property as something you own and others don’t (property is theft)
it is a long change
decentralising who holds the power
it didn’t just appear as we know it now
Rely on a common thought
I’m such a good product of capitalism
how much I’m a good product of capitalism – following through a structure –
radical complicity
Underpass learning
nowhere to gather
what you fund to keep going
the whole text is an echo in a way
///

Collectively authored by the current and continuing 19/20 Art Writing MLitt cohort.

IMPORTANT LINKS :
www.pauseorpayuk.org
www.alt-d.online
gsamfa.net/

In solidarity with those embroiled in complaints against GSA we present a collaborative piece of writing that came about as part of a conversation responding to Fred Moten and Stefano Harney’s text ‘The university (last words)’ and our own experiences of the institution.

This text is available to listen to as a special edition of the Art Writing Soft Shell podcast here.

///

hang on can’t hear back in a sec 
Radically detach
Rejecting the gowns the dress
I think just stop paying
the feedback is the grades / collective feedback takes its place
If we accept
experience economy
Access to your peers
in a pragmatic way
undermine value of credential
What is required
Using the university as a hermit crab shell
university as hermit crab shell
university as a hermit crab shell
occupy
carapace
Any kind of shell
something useful that can be carried off
steal from the university
Access to each other
beep
you’ve all been expelled
refusing
refusing to end
Refusing the discipline
sticky question
extracted as currency
extracted from you as the university’s currency
Submit awful work
Do your best work in secret amongst each other
do your best work in secret
then you lick it
the university as guard of resource
University as guard to be undermined
break down barriers of access
Disperse them outwards
I can let anyone into a zoom
physical barriers
Robin Hood it
What they hold
authorship
people on the inside giving away for free
Intellectual property
how are those entangled
Property ownership authorship
property ownership authorship
Collective authorship
complicity
Talked out of it by submission
voices that join in with each other
hierarchy of work
Work rises
hierarchy of work
What it means to have an art practice
arts ed capitalises on “my work”
the privilege of being paid to work/research
academics rise
Individuality of submissions
Read by a higher reader
even if working as a collaboration
the individuality of submissions
can’t submit as one
Property–>value
the labour isn’t equivalent
From the beginning we are learnt to say ‘my practice’ ‘my work’
You go in holding this thing
disrupt and defer
the language of “my practice”
a practice of individuation
language of practice is the language of funding applications
we don’t present without names
We don’t present nameless
Naming as a form of violence
naming as ossifying
fixing to commodify
Acknowledgement as first step
Overcoming our complicity
my work/my practice,
What could it become
many many terms
Different ways to conceptualise it and put it into language
what role does language have in all of this
a manifesto
manifesto as movement to a different language
language of movement of criticism
Instead of floating through it
what we understand collectively
our own our practices
maybe just not paying
if you’ve got a problem you assume there’s a specific solution to that problem
Step outside – the potentials get bigger
meet in the car park
Stepping around the problem
increasing surveillance of students
Restriction of access
ways to work around that
movement around the campus is documented
Not a given that that’s okay
surveillance – it’s not a given that that’s ok
you start at group and end at solo
whole artist trajectory is group show towards solo show
start at group and end at solo
Art – start in group move to solo / it’s all pushed that way / it’s a tradition – proponent of larger apparatus of making solo
a larger apparatus of making solo
Abolish the solo show!
(Dorothea Lange, at her big moma retrospective, insisted on including her assistant’s work in it)
Presented to a student, to take part in – take part, scoop
student paying for the conversation / staff being paid to ‘give the conversation | taking part is the language of the university
Conscientious and active students paying
often not lines defined by the students themselves
this weird accountability thing
Its not a mutual thing
staff student ‘relationship’
the beginning of being solidified
We’re in the beginnings of being solidified
the early fizzy stages
it didn’t feel fun anymore
The work, my work, a unit of work
play
Resisting articulation or end
the structures that make things not fun anymore
Sustained practice (SH)
fun and play as subversive strategies
What about anger
what about anger
Anger within play
Play assumes we’re happy
where is anger within play
an indulgence
pastoral care as pull / indulgent
someone to care what you’re doing
you can’t show anger bc you’re getting pastoral care
It puts you in a clinch
play as in mess with it
Other ways to be antagonistic within the structure
it ultimately benefits the uni
Never made the actual work
withheld the work
benefited the course – won prizes
To not make the final product
it is very slippery
that’s not really the fucking point
The inconvenience of anger
the inconvenience of anger and of not playing
Of not giving back
Inconvenience of giving something back that’s not palatable
Not playing
Not user friendly
how do people think it’s different and why
remove reference to it
The institution are uncomfortable so trying to remove reference to them / keep it in house
the idea of looking back
Alumnus are used
alumnus – they let themselves be used
that doesn’t make any sense chronologically
University relying on complacency on a more giant body of students
university relying on complacency of larger body of students
like business does
I’ve just got to get through this
the individuation of it
I’m gonna carve this time out
I’m going to carve this time out
the sacrifices people have made
the sacrifices people have made
money/time
Relies on the sacrifices
A bind
competition, apathy
Some people aren’t in a position to reject it
powerless within that
to be in a specific place
What can we do as a group to disrupt or reject that
on a day to day basis
habitual things
Habitual actions
What habitual things over a long term force change
the privilege to be able to protest
the privilege to be able to protest
it’s about access as well
access to these thought processes
Access to these discussions
organising outwith the institution
Brief moments of interactions have sometimes been more worthwhile than 2 hr seminars
that spontaneous conversation that arises
the stuff that’s around the institution the para
is probably most valuable
The stuff that’s around the institution /the para part of the institution
Those spaces, they’re spontaneous
there’s something and it’s a bit sideways
make the structure make less sense
Let it go let it stop being property
how you articulate where your position in the university is
How you articulate what your position in the university is
what agency or organisation could look like
Let the property go
can ‘an organisation’ not have property
divert you from your aims are usually the three p’s: property, prestige, power
digital exclusion
Who’s left behind
The shifts that have had to happen
Necessary adaptation
false sense of agency
fob us off
Property when it’s not investment
property when it’s not investment
GAS – things are housed there
can an organisation or an institution be a free entity if it doesn’t have property?
keeping that space safe
is the issue not with the property but who controls the use of the property?
How do you make an open and radical accountability process?
a radical accountability process
those issues come up very much in the virtual space
not as free as the university would like you to believe
Property is theft
property as a thing or a space that can be collectively owned
property as something you own and others don’t (property is theft)
it is a long change
decentralising who holds the power
it didn’t just appear as we know it now
Rely on a common thought
I’m such a good product of capitalism
how much I’m a good product of capitalism – following through a structure –
radical complicity
Underpass learning
nowhere to gather
what you fund to keep going
the whole text is an echo in a way

Collectively authored by the current and continuing 19/20 Art Writing MLitt cohort.

IMPORTANT LINKS :

www.pauseorpayuk.org
www.alt-d.online
gsashowcase.net/louie-tyssen/
gsamfa.net/

In solidarity with those embroiled in complaints against GSA we present a collaborative piece of writing that came about as part of a conversation responding to Fred Moten and Stefano Harney’s text ‘The university: Last words’ and our own experiences of the institution.

This text is available to listen to as a special edition of the Art Writing Soft Shell podcast here.

hang on can’t hear back in a sec
Radically detach
Rejecting the gowns the dress
I think just stop paying
the feedback is the grades / collective feedback takes its place
If we accept
experience economy
Access to your peers
in a pragmatic way
undermine value of credential
What is required
Using the university as a hermit crab shell
university as hermit crab shell
university as a hermit crab shell
occupy
carapace
Any kind of shell
something useful that can be carried off
steal from the university
Access to each other
beep
you’ve all been expelled
refusing
refusing to end
Refusing the discipline
sticky question
extracted as currency
extracted from you as the university’s currency
Submit awful work
Do your best work in secret amongst each other
do your best work in secret
then you lick it
the university as guard of resource
University as guard to be undermined
break down barriers of access
Disperse them outwards
I can let anyone into a zoom
physical barriers
Robin Hood it
What they hold
authorship
people on the inside giving away for free
Intellectual property
how are those entangled
Property ownership authorship
property ownership authorship
Collective authorship
complicity
Talked out of it by submission
voices that join in with each other
hierarchy of work
Work rises
hierarchy of work
What it means to have an art practice
arts ed capitalises on “my work”
the privilege of being paid to work/research
academics rise
Individuality of submissions
Read by a higher reader
even if working as a collaboration
the individuality of submissions
can’t submit as one
Property–>value
the labour isn’t equivalent
From the beginning we are learnt to say ‘my practice’ ‘my work’
You go in holding this thing
disrupt and defer
the language of “my practice”
a practice of individuation
language of practice is the language of funding applications
we don’t present without names
We don’t present nameless
Naming as a form of violence
naming as ossifying
fixing to commodify
Acknowledgement as first step
Overcoming our complicity
my work/my practice,
What could it become
many many terms
Different ways to conceptualise it and put it into language
what role does language have in all of this
a manifesto
manifesto as movement to a different language
language of movement of criticism
Instead of floating through it
what we understand collectively
our own our practices
maybe just not paying
if you’ve got a problem you assume there’s a specific solution to that problem
Step outside – the potentials get bigger
meet in the car park
Stepping around the problem
increasing surveillance of students
Restriction of access
ways to work around that
movement around the campus is documented
Not a given that that’s okay
surveillance – it’s not a given that that’s ok
you start at group and end at solo
whole artist trajectory is group show towards solo show
start at group and end at solo
Art – start in group move to solo / it’s all pushed that way / it’s a tradition – proponent of larger apparatus of making solo
a larger apparatus of making solo
Abolish the solo show!
(Dorothea Lange, at her big moma retrospective, insisted on including her assistant’s work in it)
Presented to a student, to take part in – take part, scoop
student paying for the conversation / staff being paid to ‘give the conversation | taking part is the language of the university
Conscientious and active students paying
often not lines defined by the students themselves
this weird accountability thing
Its not a mutual thing
staff student ‘relationship’
the beginning of being solidified
We’re in the beginnings of being solidified
the early fizzy stages
it didn’t feel fun anymore
The work, my work, a unit of work
play
Resisting articulation or end
the structures that make things not fun anymore
Sustained practice (SH)
fun and play as subversive strategies
What about anger
what about anger
Anger within play
Play assumes we’re happy
where is anger within play
an indulgence
pastoral care as pull / indulgent
someone to care what you’re doing
you can’t show anger bc you’re getting pastoral care
It puts you in a clinch
play as in mess with it
Other ways to be antagonistic within the structure
it ultimately benefits the uni
Never made the actual work
withheld the work
benefited the course – won prizes
To not make the final product
it is very slippery
that’s not really the fucking point
The inconvenience of anger
the inconvenience of anger and of not playing
Of not giving back
Inconvenience of giving something back that’s not palatable
Not playing
Not user friendly
how do people think it’s different and why
remove reference to it
The institution are uncomfortable so trying to remove reference to them / keep it in house
the idea of looking back
Alumnus are used
alumnus – they let themselves be used
that doesn’t make any sense chronologically
University relying on complacency on a more giant body of students
university relying on complacency of larger body of students
like business does
I’ve just got to get through this
the individuation of it
I’m gonna carve this time out
I’m going to carve this time out
the sacrifices people have made
the sacrifices people have made
money/time
Relies on the sacrifices
A bind
competition, apathy
Some people aren’t in a position to reject it
powerless within that
to be in a specific place
What can we do as a group to disrupt or reject that
on a day to day basis
habitual things
Habitual actions
What habitual things over a long term force change
the privilege to be able to protest
the privilege to be able to protest
it’s about access as well
access to these thought processes
Access to these discussions
organising outwith the institution
Brief moments of interactions have sometimes been more worthwhile than 2 hr seminars
that spontaneous conversation that arises
the stuff that’s around the institution the para
is probably most valuable
The stuff that’s around the institution /the para part of the institution
Those spaces, they’re spontaneous
there’s something and it’s a bit sideways
make the structure make less sense
Let it go let it stop being property
how you articulate where your position in the university is
How you articulate what your position in the university is
what agency or organisation could look like
Let the property go
can ‘an organisation’ not have property
divert you from your aims are usually the three p’s: property, prestige, power
digital exclusion
Who’s left behind
The shifts that have had to happen
Necessary adaptation
false sense of agency
fob us off
Property when it’s not investment
property when it’s not investment
GAS – things are housed there
can an organisation or an institution be a free entity if it doesn’t have property?
keeping that space safe
is the issue not with the property but who controls the use of the property?
How do you make an open and radical accountability process?
a radical accountability process
those issues come up very much in the virtual space
not as free as the university would like you to believe
Property is theft
property as a thing or a space that can be collectively owned
property as something you own and others don’t (property is theft)
it is a long change
decentralising who holds the power
it didn’t just appear as we know it now
Rely on a common thought
I’m such a good product of capitalism
how much I’m a good product of capitalism – following through a structure –
radical complicity
Underpass learning
nowhere to gather
what you fund to keep going
the whole text is an echo in a way

///

Collectively authored by the current and continuing 19/20 Art Writing MLitt cohort.

IMPORTANT LINKS :
www.pauseorpayuk.org
www.alt-d.online

Hannah Braithwaite is a curator and writer working on a Master’s in Curatorial Practice at the Glasgow School of Art. She is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her previous exhibitions include Looking at People Looking (Or Not Looking) At Art More or Less 1 Mile from Here (2019), (Dis)CONNECT (2018) and an unrealized project with the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Art History from Concordia University. She is interested in queer archival practices and storytelling, domestic spaces, craft and their political importance.

Her most recent project, having been touched on the surface, is a zine and online appendix for queer women to reflect upon the spaces they inhabit and create. Initiated by Hannah Braithwaite in collaboration with and featuring new writing from Hannah Karpinski and Isabelle Joy-Stephen, the project explores queer friendships, ephemera, and domestic space, inspired in part by José Esteban Muñoz’s text “Ephemera as Evidence”. Ephemera, defined by Muñoz, accounts for the residues of queer life. In having been touched on the surface, ephemera takes the form of sewing patterns, shared clothing, and familiar routines. The zine will be published in a limited run in September of 2020 and will not be available online, rather distributed locally by the collaborators.

The accompanying online appendix shows fragments of the many works that inspired and innfluenced this project. It can be found at surfacezine.tumblr.com.

Alison O’Shea is currently based in Cork city, Ireland, currently pursuing the MLitt Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) programme through extended study. Her curatorial and artistic practices’ primary concerns include alternative methodologies of productivity, and creating sustainable practice models through speculative fiction. Recent curatorial projects include; relaxation*, Siuán Ní Dhochartaigh, Glasgow, UK; Over or Under, Molly O’Leary and Dominique Rivard, co-curated with Joe Henry and Cecelia Graham, Glasgow, UK; and Burning Down the House, Cork, Ireland. Her upcoming project a passive house is a collaborative publication and event with her sibling Lily O’Shea and will launch in late November 2020 in Cork city, Ireland.

Lily O’Shea is a visual artist based in Ireland and current artist-in-residence at The Guesthouse Project as part of the INHOUSE initiative, Cork. Her practice is concerned with political questions surrounding the contemporary labourer. This practice involves sculpture, performance, and film, as well as different forms of writing and publishing in varied contexts. Recent group exhibitions include: Rhetoric, Crawford College of Art and Design Online Degree Showcase, Cork, 2020, Villa the End, Berlin Gallery Weekend, Charlottenburg, Berlin 2019, and Art(ist) Film, The Gate Cinema, Indie Film Festival, Cork, 2019.

a passive house takes the last months of lockdown as a satirical artist residency interrogating ideas surrounding creative pursuit, productivity and down-time. A passive house is a house which is truly energy efficient[1], a sustainable and comfortable structure. This publication will comprise of a series of archival material from within the house – a house which is striving to become a passive house – the goal of energy efficiency is still present but for the occupants rather than the structure. The occupants of the space return to share a room for an extended retreat into the house.

The production of this text has simultaneously been a search for a sustainable practice but also an ever-present pressure to create an output to validate the pursuit of a practice. The methodology utilised to create this piece might be considered to be procrastination – in an attempt to understand what this work is, methods such as extended periods of reality TV watching, can drinking and sleeping have been utilised. These methods have now become the material of this object as procrastination has allowed us the time of having very little time whilst simultaneously having this opening up of time due to the blurry boundaries of when this work must be done. The attempt to describe what this labour is, removes some of the irony of calling it labour in that there is now an attempt to co-opt these everyday activities as artistic pursuit. Once the observation of the residents by the residents has begun; the excavation of the everyday, the labour which was being avoided begins.

[1] https://passivehouse.com/02_informations/01_whatisapassivehouse/01_whatisapassivehouse.htm

About the Project

Roc Blackblock– Barcelona; KMG – Edinburgh; Priestcorp – Glasgow; Siguel – Poland and Dr. D – London

Running through autumn 2020, Art of Defiance originated in Glasgow as a progression of creative responses centred on the ideas of connection, disruption, influence and change within the period of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project is curated by Marianne Vosloo and has developed through close collaborations with artists spanning a range of backgrounds, whose practices seek to create spaces of resistance and forms of disruption in the physical and digital public spheres in a time of crisis.

Art of Defiance takes the form of a series of poster interventions in advertising sites situated on the walls of the railway arches in Glasgow’s Eastvale Place. This small dead-end street is tucked away in between a diverging point of two railway lines next to an old industrial site, now a multi-disciplinary arts venue called SWG3. In addition, the project takes the form of web postings on social media and a customised website, developed collaboratively with each artist. The project connects a group of visual artists, street artists, aerosol artists and communication designers with overlapping subversive practices. Art of Defiance captures creative reactions to concealed, pre-existing and invisible issues further exposed by the pandemic, personal experiences, contemporary events and public discourse.

The zero in A0D represents artists, practices and voices not fully recognised in the art canon and, those who prefer the shadows of artistic anonymity. At the same time, zero is the new beginning of unlimited possibilities and visions for the future.

Curatorial Rationale

The emergence of coronavirus rapidly grew from a highly infectious disease into a set of circumstances and restrictions worldwide that would affect everything that we know and all aspects of our lives. What surfaced as a result of this turmoil was an unmasking and magnification of social and economic inequalities, with many levels of injustices made visible by an “invisible agent” (‘The Pandemic’s Invisible Agent‘, www.hyperallergic.com). The humanitarian crisis that unfolded simultaneously presented new possibilities to unsettle, subvert and transform systems and structures of power in creative ways, whilst concurrently revealing acts of resilience and new visions for the future.

The development of Art of Defiance started in the street; directly engaging with the strong imagery of placards and protests seen in early 2020. Most memorable was the political graffiti slogans painted in protest onto the monument of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, as part of numerous 2020 protests against police brutality in the U.S.A.  The discarded placards around the toppled Edward Colston statue in Bristol similarly highlighted the strong presence of art in protest. This builds on evolving political struggles, acts of intervention to raise awareness of repressive and regressive acts of selfish capitalism, and an emerging satirical theme in activist art. Art in public space continued to emerge resilient and unrestrained, despite pandemic restrictions, while the rest of society viewed it on the internet under lockdown.

The placement of artwork into advertising sites such as billboards and bus stops in the urban environment is a disruption and repurposing of the commercial space. At the same time, the content of artwork created specifically for Art of Defiance is in itself seeking to disrupt, defy and challenge the major social, economic and political manipulations of 2020. A0D is the beginning of a community beyond the local, and which engages in the broader discussions around public art emerging during the pandemic.

Each of the artists has devised a poster intervention considered as an act of defiance in itself, which directly addresses the pandemic period. They have produced a piece of artwork during 2020 whilst remaining in five separate locations in Europe, working under different lockdown restrictions and limitations. The production of the artwork as posters connects with the history of artistic protest posters used at times of major social change.

A0D is both an arts commission and a shift towards a movement in public art. The platform gives a collective voice to artists working in different parts of the world, and that is my contribution as curator. The project goes beyond curating the poster interventions in Glasgow, to try and connect with, and actively contribute to, a broader conversation internationally.

The major global events arising throughout 2020 alongside coronavirus fears, have motivated a surge in activist contemporaneous research across public sites as well as newly formed online artistic platforms, creating an ideal recipe for Art of Defiance: for artists to shout back, to escape the limitations of daily life, and to challenge authority. And possibly to signal the start of a major new cultural revolution?

Curatorial Statement

I am a South African with an extensive interest in subversive and activist art practice, especially in street culture, public space interventions and the involvement of art in pivotal contemporary events. This interest emerged in my formative years in the Limpopo and Gauteng Provinces of South Africa where my awareness of the powerful effect of art in communal space developed into a fascination for art as a disruptive force. My visual experience of art as a tool of protest against the Apartheid regime and as part of a wider internal resistance movement fighting for change, established my desire to seek out art on the unconventional fringes of the mainstream. My curatorial practice explores interdisciplinary connectivity, transformational shifts and social engagement through art with a particular interest in artistic practices identified as marginalised, alternative, or part of DIY urban sub-cultures. My current research-led projects focus on anti-establishment art and creative activism within spaces that seek to defy and undermine dominant systems of influence and control on society.

Biography

Marianne Vosloo is a freelance curator, artist and event organiser, and an arts programmer at SWG3, Glasgow. She is the co-organiser of Yardworks, an annual multi-disciplinary live arts event at SWG3, showcasing Visual Art, Street Art, Design, Typography and Aerosol Art in public space. Marianne has a degree in Art History and Visual Communication from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Recent exhibitions include Authority & Freedom: Testing the Context (Underneath M8 motorway and A804 Phoenix Road, Glasgow, 2019) co-curated with Beatriz Lobo Britto, Jiaying Cao, Kehan Liu and Pui Ying Claudia Chan, and Control Alter Delete (The Photography Studio, SWG3, Glasgow, 2020). The latter event linked the work of a satirical artist, illustrator and writer, a subvertiser and visual activist, painting and printmaking students and a street artist to showcase overlapping subversive responses to structures of power and authority.

Expanded Attitudes is a publication developed collaboratively between curator Hannah Benassi and artists Sean Ellcombe, Naomi McClure, and Masaki Ishikawa. Reflecting on the isolation of lockdown and the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, this publication provides a space for three contemporary painters to reflect on previously completed projects and share new experimental developments of their practices. Focusing on the expanded field of painting and its different working processes, Expanded Attitudes presents a variety of work from linear drawings to three-dimensional models. This publication chronicles the artists’ creative processes during the pandemic while considering changing identities in contemporary painting.

Hannah Benassi is an artist and curator based in Edinburgh. Receiving her BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Benassi has exhibited her work in Dundee, Edinburgh, Kelso, and London. Continuing her studies in Curatorial Practice at The Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow, Benassi’s practice is concerned with contemporary painting in the expanded field, where she focuses on providing curatorial contributions to the development of the artists’ practice. Recently curated exhibitions include: My Truth is your story, co-curated with Shalmali Shetty and Yihang Hu, The Britannia Panopticon (2019), Beyond the Conventions of Painting, Salt Space Gallery (2020); and the digital publication Expanded Attitudes (2020). Working independently and collaboratively with artists and curators, she has also worked for Patricia Fleming Projects in Glasgow assisting the curatorial team with Anne Colvin’s interconnective residency When does a second become a moment? (2020).

Creating communicative spaces through collaborative methods of practice, my curatorial projects perform a levelled working dynamic between artist and curator. My curatorial research stems from my practice as an artist where I explore the changes in contemporary painting to examine how curators are responding to the expansive developments of the artform. Shifting between artist and curator, my curatorial methodology engages in prioritising the working process of the artists and to contribute to the development of their painting practice. Providing a loose framework at the beginning of every collaboration allows me to support interdisciplinary approaches to painting where my aim is to connect with the explorative practice of the artist and their unique identities of contemporary painting.

Instagram: @hannahbenassi

Claude Chan

Bio: Claude is a curator and researcher from Hong Kong. Her practice is concerned with queer histories, performance, technology and posthumanism, particularly the relationship between human body and technology as a framework for challenging the issues of ontology and anthropocentrism. Her research is centred around interview and conversation, with a focus on the role of the curator within an artist’s practice when facing ethical issues of display.

Recent exhibitions and research include: In/Invisibility: Presence In Performance, co-curated with Carol Dunn, Hannah Braithwaite and Shalmali Shetty (Kelvin Hall, March 2020); Authority & Freedom: Testing the Context, co-curated with Beatriz Lobo Britto, Marianne Vosloo, Dia Cao and Luke Liu (Under M8 Motorway and A804 Phoenix Road, Oct 2019). She has worked for CCA Glasgow through its Art Internship since 2019, assisting the curatorial team on the Cooking Pot Programme (May/June 2020).

Curatorial & Research Statement:

With a strong interest in posthuman art and curatorial practice, my curatorial methodology uses creative discourse as a strategy by conducting interviews with artists and curators as specialists key case studies, from which a layered exploration of experience, theories and narrative may develop.

My Master’s dissertation aims to discuss the concept of posthumanism in terms of exploring changing relationships between technology and the human body as a framework for challenging issues of ontology and anthropocentrism; observing that, the discussion of this topic in contemporary art and curatorial practice remains to be fully charted, and the theoretical research on it is worthy of which to pay attention. By reviewing historical exhibitions concerning the post-human, this research aims to examine the conditions of curating that frame the existence and further development of posthuman art, as well as presenting the desire for body enhancement as a response to expand the imagination and discussion.

My curatorial concerns centre around the moral impact of artistic practice on curatorial practice, seeking to develop a deeper understanding of the attitudes that curators should hold when facing these challenges through my research. By analyzing key case studies in my dissertation, I hope to present a wider view of posthumanism in curatorial practice, which will advance and support my own curation of projects in the future.

Joe Henry is an independent artist and curator based in Glasgow, Scotland. Joe’s work centres around music and art, developing more recently work that emerges as an interwoven meditation on healing through art and music.

His research investigates collaborations between, musicians, composers, poets, writers and photographers, curating and producing artwork that interweaves film and sculpture, music and video. Recent exhibitions and film work include:

Amy Winehouse by Charles Moriarty,(Dublin CHQ Building, May 2018);
The Lost Warhols by Karen Bystedt (Brown Thomas, Dublin, Oct 2018);
LCD Soundsystem by Ruvan Wijesooriya &amp; Joe Henry (Guinness Storeshouse, Dublin, June 2019, and SWG3 Glasgow, October 2019);
Basquiat by Roland Hagenberg (Dublin Art Source, RDS, November 2019 and Sal Fine Art, Dublin);
Healing in a broken world, short film (Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow, Postgraduate Degree Show, August 2020).

Grace Jackson is a curator and writer from Toronto, Canada, currently based in Glasgow, UK. Presently, Grace is completing her Master of Letters in Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow. Her research interests include queer theory; alternative and ephemeral forms of archiving; and curatorial practices based on hope, disappointment, and uncertainty.

Previously, Grace was the director of the Toronto gallery The Zwig Foundation Collection from 2017-2019, where she organised artist talks, community events, and alternative curatorial programs that intended to enliven a static collection with new perspectives and discursive forms of looking and learning. Additionally, she was editor-in-chief of discount magazine, an artist-run publication based out of Toronto from 2015-2018. With discount, Grace led the organising, fundraising, and publication of two successful issues that brought together international artists based on varying themes. Grace completed her BFA in Art History with distinction at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in 2015.

PROJECT SUMMARY

VIDEO ~ From My Bedroom to Yours: Art History Lessons from an Absolute Nobody and EXTENDED ESSAY ~ Unruly forms of Care: Preserving Humility as a method of Curatorial Resistance

This curatorial project takes the form of both essay and video, using the work of artist Vaginal Davis to unpack traditional curatorial strategies of care.

Vaginal Crème Davis is an LA-born, Berlin-based artist whose artistic practice spans a vast and untameable array of media. Throughout her work, she has applied unpredictable styles, techniques, themes, and venues making her difficult to define or pin-down. Her lengthy career destabilizes notions of gender, race, sexuality, and linearity, as she fluidly moves between progressing forward and returning back to old habits and ideas. As Dominic Johnson explains, “Davis’s personas reject the internal counter-cultural mandate to refuse self-criticism, instead problematizing the functions and assumptions of normative trends within the margins,” (Johnson, 2001). Her conceptual lectures, zines, and drag performances not only move away from standards imposed by mainstream culture, they further seek to undermine standards more generally. Davis continues to challenge her viewers to look for alternatives to current circumstances and new possibilities that are not always evident elsewhere.

Famously described as employing a form of ‘terrorist drag’ by José Esteban Muñoz in 1999, Davis imposes unruly and eccentric concepts upon her audience, often even radicalising ideas that already appear unconventional (Muñoz, 2018, 93). In 2003 Davis explained to her interviewer:

“When it comes to performance art, I am more interested in the failures than the so-called successes. I have never cared for entertaining anyone. My performances may have elements that some may find entertaining, but that’s not my main purpose.” (Bregman, 2003)

Gaining a clear understanding of Davis’s goals is not necessarily possible, as her intentions with each project vary enormously. However, determining the purpose of her work, or trying to grasp it entirely is perhaps beside the point. Davis invites us into a space in which we are not necessarily privy to what is going on; however, we are together in collective discomfort, sharing an uncertainty about how we should feel or what we should think. Angry, messy, humorous, and unkempt, yet always intelligent and thoughtful, Davis’s work activates the politics of her own body, as well as the bodies, spaces, structures, and oppressions that surround her.

Further, Davis’s work offers a powerful avenue through which to explore practices of curating, and therefore caring for art. My video project seeks to both present the work of Vaginal Crème Davis, while also experimenting and exploring avenues of curation that are antithetical to traditional standards of white cubes and academia. Following from Jack Halberstam’s concept of the ‘queer public intellectual,’ the project seeks to undermine boundaries between academic and community-based forms of learning, blending them together and demonstrating their validity harmoniously (Halberstam, 2003, p. 363). The extended essay examines institutionalised curatorial methods that seek profit and cultural capital above the interests of the artists they work with and seeks to demonstrate how Davis’s work is inherently in opposition to such goals. Divergently, the art historical video diary intends to offer a unique counterpoint to institutionalised curating and writing about art. Inspired by Davis’s anarchic and nonlinear practice, curator Grace Jackson comes to us via webcam, taking us through three disparate works by the artist. From the confines of Jackson’s bedroom, we have the opportunity to engage with personal and sensory interpretations of Davis’s work that are indeed bound by fact, yet also by ephemera. The project seeks to demonstrate the fluidity necessary within authentic forms of care, asking us to consider how each artist can offer new ways to interrogate curatorial practices.

Hu Yihang is a “silent” pseudo curator and radical post-idealist in a sense. His practice investigates “redundant events” arising from the ontological contradiction of ideological intervention in communities; His recent research centres on the reconstruction of the body caused by epistemological and aesthetic conflicts, the ontology of organic bodies and digital simulacra and the dialectic of texts as visual and phonetic act in the exhibitions.

He is also a co-founder of curatorial community /nfornonsense/ & founder of /Stray Dogs’ Garden (野犬花园)/ & 1/3 of curatorial collective /the_bricolage/.

Recent produced exhibitions include: /My Truth is Your Story/ (Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, November 2019), co-curated with Hannah Benassi and Shalmali Shetty; (online project, March 2020); /Phenakite are Forever/ (online project, August 2020); /Bon Voyage/ (Wooton Gallery, January 2021).

yihang.hu29@gmail.com
Instagram: @yihanginthewild

Beatriz Lobo (b. 1994, Brazil) is a curator, museologist and researcher. An enthusiast of non-hierarchical thinking, she believes in the equality of ideas and non-linear ways of composing and organizing them. Interested in performance art as a form of critique, and guided by a theoretical approach, she works under an intersectional feminist framework. Her most recent research investigates strategies to decolonize the curatorial through Brazilian art practices.

Beatriz holds a BA (Hons) in Museum Studies and her professional experience extends from community-based museums to private collections. For more information, please refer to the website.

DISSERTATION TITLE

Performing Refusal: Lygia Clark’s practice as a decolonial tool within the curatorial

ABSTRACT
Although decoloniality has been a prominent topic in the arts since the 1990s, the major studies and publications on the topic have been led by institutions from the Global North. Despite the increasing amount of exhibitions by artists of colour and other minorities, the internal structures of these institutions are still white-male dominated. This paper introduces Brazil’s political scenario since the 1960s and, under the Black Feminist Poethics methodology, discusses strategies of decoloniality within the curatorial field. By building a parallel between Lygia Clark’s practice and conceptualising refusal aligned with the Practicing Refusal Collective, it proposes refusal as a generative tool. Finally, the research is brought to a contemporary context, presenting the COLERE Project, a curatorial initiative that has emerged to perform the theory and methodology discussed in this very paper. It concludes the fundamental importance of people of colour and other minorities to lead discussions that concern themselves. Ultimately, this paper demonstrates that visibility is not power, suggesting alternative ways of working in the arts, going beyond exhibiting unprivileged artists, and placing them in a role of knowledge production and decision-making instead.

Shalmali Shetty (b. 1992) is pursuing an M.Litt in Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) at Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow supported by the Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship. She completed her Bachelor’s in Painting and Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat (2015) and a Master’s in Arts and Aesthetics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (2017). She has previously worked as an editor, writer and researcher for various art magazines and platforms based in India and has recently curated exhibitions within Glasgow. She intends to coalesce her background in art practice and theory in the production of the curatorial.

Her recent curatorial projects as part of M.Litt CPCA include the Hunterian Project 2020: In/Visibility: Presence in Performance co-curated with Carol Dunn, Claude Chan and Hannah Braithwaite in collaboration with the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow (March 2020, cancelled due to Covid-19) and My Truth is Your Story co-curated with Hannah Benassi and Yihang Hu under the collective titled the_bricolage, Glasgow (November 2019).

For her degree project, she has been working on putting together a publication titled this cloud may burst (December 2020) with visual and textual contributions from Debi Banerjee, Jenny Brownrigg, Sean Patrick Campbell and Katri Heinämäki around the themes of archives, hauntology, material cultures and memories.

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

this cloud may burst: thoughts on the loss and preservation of memory

It was May 2020 – I had already spent two months of the lockdown living alone in my room. Much of my thoughts were centred around a future I had anticipated and the sudden disruption of that very sense of a future. Accompanying this was the event of my hard disk crashing, erasing data and a sense of a past that I had digitally accumulated over a period of time. This only added to my experience of moments of slowness, stagnancy, blankness and despair. I was unable to remember what either the future or the past contained.⁣⁣⁣

What if one day, hypothetically speaking, we wake up to a world that experiences a digital blackout – as unprecedented as this pandemic that fractured familiar processes? Would this digital obsolescence disrupt our personal memories? What will it take to perform a collective remembrance in the shadow of capitalist and political structures? ⁣⁣⁣

Meanwhile, I think of artists and cultural practitioners who tend to make references to personal, historical and political archives and collective memories for their creative productions, adding their own interpretations and expressions, making way for intended or unintended appropriations, new and fictional narratives, parallel histories, analogous archives and alternate timelines. While recontextualizing the past within the contemporary, they are inadvertently building a layered, multi-narrative history for other possible futures.

The publication comprises thoughts on the loss and preservation of memory through text and visuals contributed by Debi Banerjee, Jenny Brownrigg, Sean Patrick Campbell and Katri Heinämäki (refer to accompanying images).

Most of my works mainly focus on oil paintings, a small part of installations and videos. I am very interested in the human body, no head. Based on Deleuze’s body without organs philosophy, I try to use oil paintings to show the body that has escaped from the state of being connected, standardized, symbolized and subjective by society, so it A body that has been dismantled, decomposed, and non-regionalized so that it can be rebuilt in a new way.” It also refers to a body that is alive, restless, free, full of positive desires, and generates appropriate strength. The state of preservation of the essence of freedom, in the way of shaping the human body group image to express the sense of partial lack of contemporary people and the relationship between people and people.

Bodies are always my desire at the bottom of my heart, maybe it just only sexual, maybe it has something else, I use to read lots of books, observe lots of body works, from ancient to modern, from sculpture to oil painting, those people’s body is beautiful in classical, they are single elegant and pure, but among full of wants. However the bodies in modern are real with unreal, they show outlook, they are changed. People like to show complicated emotions in unreal things, so I want to add bodies on bodies because bodies are part of human behaviors, they are the consequences of the decision, bodies need a brain to manipulate, but without a head, it’s free.

Taking found images, early renaissance paintings and personal memories as source material, this series of works attempts to disrupt the grand narratives of historic paintings by borrowing their compositions, figures and techniques but orienting them within the worlds of today’s young adults and older people. These are often points of painful life transition that are universally experienced. In un-magnificent, ordinary scenes I aim to convey the contrast of the grand narrative to the colloquial.

My main influence for this body of work has been the serene, pensive figures from early renaissance painters such as Piero Della Francesca and Giotto as well as later historical artworks, such as late paintings and etchings by Francisco Goya that thematically explore the folly of man, alongside references to 20th century artists such as Winifred Knights and Justine Kurland and the poem “Musee de Beaux Arts” by W.H. Auden, particularly the first four lines which read:

“About suffering they were never wrong,

The old Masters: how well they understood

Its human position: how it takes place

While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along”

Improvisation as mode of being and as ecological practice is at the core of the work I present here.
My original outline for the year was ‘The Arts in Service – Interrelating artistic, ecological and spiritual understanding’.
This had emerged out of years of involvement in improvisational practices, inquiry and experience of working with land and animals, as well as deliberate, but also necessary examination and withdrawal from Western ways of perceiving, thinking and operating.

Life and art are not separate for me.
The practice of an art form has the potential to inform and form you, reaching into every aspect of life and living.
Especially in these unprecedented and unpredictable times, I consider the arts a potent vehicle for self-transformation, and a means of facilitating ethical and ecological understanding.

If you like what you find here, I invite you to visit this gallery for a fuller body of work.

Also the essay that can be downloaded below might be informative.
(‘Skillfull Striving in a Time of Crisis – Improvisation as mode of being and ecological practice’)

I would have much rather invited you to a performance and a tea, but I guess that might have to wait.
I hope you enjoy what you find in this exhibition.

— ‘Caring nowadays is not a luxury, it is a matter of survival.’ – The 14th Dalai Lama —

Calum Stevenson (b. 1997, Falkirk, Scotland) previously graduated with a BA(Hons) in Fine Arts from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2019. Recipient of the Sandra McNeilance Prize for Drawing & Painting in 2019, and the ACS Materials prize in 2018. Recent exhibitions at Heinzel Gallery, Aberdeen in 2019 & 2020.

Through his practice, Stevenson has examined aspects of his surroundings and represented his perception of the world to the viewer, touching on the fear in society which is generated by the control of the state. The collection of paintings and digital collage are sculpted by Scottish surroundings of brutalist architecture and deteriorating social housing, as well as personal experiences of violent protests, both of which comment on the oppressing themes within our contemporary society.

His recent approach to painting is a combination of figurative and abstraction. By removing the hand from painting this creates uncontrolled marks and gestures, introducing an element of serendipity to the work, whilst police figures are rendered in a controlled state to reinforce the authoritarian response. The abstract backgrounds represent the unpredictable environments and events which transpire. Our superficially certain reality is questioned by recent events and reveals the fragility and instability in society.

Most of the work appears in negative, which is a result of his interest in digital integration and the relationship between human life and technology. In his development stage, images are digitally manipulated before being translated onto the canvas, which sees Stevenson become part of that machine process.

Exploring island living (both actual and perceived) through a contemporary art lens, my painting, textiles and digital interventions merge object and experience. Through collaboration I form relationships and conversations between material, place and people to question single artist ownership.

As an island artist, the internet acts as an integral disseminator to my work, to broadcast my practice and reconsider both the art audience and the gallery space — challenging the art worlds reliance on being physically present.

Since the onset of Covid-19 I have been actively campaigning against GSA mismanagement and the lack of support and care they have shown toward their students. For more information, visit https://www.pauseorpayuk.org

For more of my work, follow the links below:

My work focuses on map making, the maps I make focus on three areas that I have lived in: Whitchurch, Liverpool and Glasgow. I create maps based on either memories of areas (past), from walking and drawing simultaneously in an area and then using those drawings to create prints (present) or predictions of what could change (future). The ‘past’ maps are a mixture of memories and stories I’ve been told and have elements of childhood drawings overlapping them. The ‘present’ maps contain more words, thoughts of journeys and conversations on them. The images are also influenced by lockdown and how this changes the outlook on an area. Finally, the ‘future’ maps are questioning what will change in these strange times? and the hopes I have for the future.

I have been creating these pieces mainly through screen-printing on multiple surfaces such as paper, canvas, perspex, wood and sandpaper. I also discovered a new interest in stone lithography but due to COVID-19 and not being able to have access to the studio and workshops, my methods have had to change. For the final part of my degree I have been monoprinting (using a silkscreen), drawing and stitching.

One thing that hasn’t changed from BA to master’s is my love of colour and abstraction. I am influenced by artists such as Frank Bowling, David Hockney, France-Lise McGurn, Julie Mehretu, Henri Mattise and Helen Frankenthaler. My inspiration comes from many areas in art history with a particular love of abstract expressionists, my love of reading and nature.

Instagram – louemily_mckenzie

A Chinese artist, engaged in sculpture, public art and digital art. From the perspective of speculative realism, her recent research and creation tried to transform the concepts of being and illusion, reality and falsehood, organic life and inorganic objects; to explore the stickiness between the real world and the virtual world and enable the audience to sense the potential relationship between fact and fiction. Through these elements, people may experience the dynamic co-existence, interconnection and tension of things in space, listen to the sound of things to sense the life and existence of substances.

2020 is an extraordinary year for everyone. The COVID-19 without warning coming to break the plans of everyone. The COVID-19 seems to be pressing the world’s pause button. All the people must stop their work and study, and all were under compulsion isolated in their homes. On 24th March, the government of the UK announced the notice about the lockdown and advised people to stay at home. We must miss the beautiful spring of this year. I record this period by colour and drawing a diary. I hope that my artworks can help people feel warm and happy.

Since 1880, we’ve lost two thirds of our ocean’s fish biomass and if nothing changes we could lose 60% of our ocean species by 2100. Coronavirus led to a collapse in fish exports and many people’s livelihood is being used as a bargaining chip in Brexit negotations.

Within this context, I sought to ask: what is the future of our ocean industries and how might we take a more regenerative approach to harvesting our oceans?

To divine this knowledge I asked experts who work in sustainable fishing advocacy, seaweed harvesting and government bodies. I learned about Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture(IMTA): a means of growing edible seaweeds next to shellfish in a way that cultivates biodiversity by drawing new fish and plantlife to areas where it’s cultivated.

I then worked with budding crofters and people who fantasised about escaping from the city to navigate what they wanted and how they might take steps to reify their fantasies. There wasn’t an awareness of the possibilities that were available.

I propose an informational campaign that would help those who want to work closer to nature to take clear steps to starting an IMTA farm.

I originally graduated from a Graphic Design Masters orientated towards social matters. I developed a background in print and editorial design. My practice is now focusing on research, social design and community-based projects. I am interested in looking at how design can support emancipation but also how design relates to politics and democracy.

My Master’s research project looks at political representation and democratic processes. It challenges the concept of representation and majority as effective forms of democracy and proposes different frameworks for democracy and civic engagements.

Because politics is often pictured as a complex topic only accessible for experts to discuss, instead, I tried to look at it with a didactic approach.

The research presents two complementary approaches “From the System to the People” and “From the People to the System”. Ultimately, what I am asking is how to represent multiplicity? What are the obstacles and problems of representation? Why do they exist and how to go around them?

I first attempted to define the French political system of representation in principle and in practice as a case study. I looked at its history, philosophy, practices and the roles played by experts and public institutions hoping this will enable me to identify entry points or short-circuit for change and civic engagement.

As my research perspective shifted I realised people were affecting the system themselves. I researched around the problematics of participation and how, why, when and by whom they are currently fostered. I identified different discourses around participation relating to different ideologies.

To get perspective, I searched for analogies. I compared network theories, animal and vegetal philosophies with the different discourses and ideologies around participation and with the way our social and political systems function. This allowed me to anchor my topic in a wider ecosystem and to compare current interactions and modes of assembling, of co-existence, and see what can be improved or challenged.

If you would like to know more about my work, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

My name is Imanina. I’m a designer interested in designing for a post-capitalist society.

My most recent work explored media and democracy in the UK and looked at how alternative, citizen-owned media might provide a voice for the mis- and under-represented groups in society.

I’m keen to further explore how design might be used as a catalyst for social good, that is accessible for all and not just an elite few.

After finishing my BA in Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, I pursued a Masters in Design Innovation & Citizenship at The Glasgow School of Art. Together with my partner Kat Zavada, we organise Nadmiar/Excess – contemporary art and experimental music festival. I was part of the editorial board of Formy.xyz – Poland’s first peer-reviewed design journal (2018–2019). I held design roles at Ergo Design and Comarch. Together with Tillman Kratzer and Kat Zavada, we are preparing to launch Works On Work – a collaboration space for people pursuing projects related to the topic work.

For me, Design isn’t necessarily about finding a solution nor about solving problems. It is about creating space or situations where conflicting views and power relations can be discussed and renegotiated. I oppose the idea of the designer as a facilitator who seeks consensus between different actants, for it blurs authorship and what follows – responsibility. My practice is not about creating consensus or pleasing all parties. On the contrary, I see great value in conflict and dissensus as vehicles for liberation.

My master’s thesis looks at the idea of wellbeing appropriated by the contemporary mainstream managerial discourse, where employees’ happiness is perceived as something to be quantified, managed, and used as a productivity-enhancement strategy.

In opposition to the dogmatic aesthetic representations happiness related to a neoliberal moral fantasy imposed by those in the position of power, I propose taking a step back to anticipate and celebrate the spontaneous, unmanageable sources of joy and satisfaction resulting from autonomy.

The project aims to document minor everyday activities, techniques and coping strategies that go against the managerial regime – micro-disobediences that give one a sense of autonomy. Some examples may include: binge-watching Netflix during work time, taking unnecessarily long breaks, choosing different routes than the algorithm decides, being intentionally mean to your customer, acting grumpy when everybody is overenthusiastic or perhaps not participating in socials. And through these ‘coming-outs’ create a space free of slack-shaming and overstepping guilt.

With this project, I want to provoke a further conversation about work dogma and the spiritual violence of positivity at work. Unguilty Pleasures is an (auto)therapeutic tool for many working people, including myself.

I am Mugdha Patil, a graduate of the Master of Design in Design Innovation and Citizenship course at the Glasgow School of Art. I completed my undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Design degree in Furniture Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad (NID). I am a designer who believes in making social change through people-centered and people-led actions and policies. I design services, products, product-services, and experiences that promote social, ecological transformation by applying research that focuses on people and the ecosystems (social, cultural, economic, psychological as well as physical) they occupy.

Citizenship for me means having a sense of belonging to a society. Design can help bring that about. I believe that taking into consideration the needs of an ecosystem as a whole gives us an opportunity for creating lasting change that is not just environmentally sustainable but also economically feasible and socially equitable. I believe that the design process has a thousand endings; it simply doesn’t end with a product and I continue to absorb its messages and meanings beyond that.

About the project.

My project, The Design of Dissent, combines public pedagogy and participatory design to create a Museum of Dissent. The final proposal made is that of a co-curated and co-created space where citizens can educate themselves about the various ways of critically participating in government, engage in the causes they believe in, and commemorate people’s power and struggles from the past.

The overall aim of this project is to identify how citizens perceive their duty of participation in government, especially in terms of dissent and our civic education on this particular topic. My focus is especially on the process of collective legacy-making, trust in institutions, and different approaches to critical civic participation, in times of protest and social change.

Following a qualitative case study + participatory design approach, this research intends to build a rich in-depth investigation focusing on how civic education is realized in our political lives and how critical sentiments are expressed by the citizenry, through the use of interviews, workshops, surveys, and document analysis. The results of this project are intended to bring more clarity to the ‘design’ of dissent, legacy of people’s movements, people’s trust in institutions (or lack thereof), and the viability of leaderless social movements.

A Fashion and Textiles Educator currently working at BPS Secondary College in Mauritius. As a fashion and textiles teacher she has always promoted the Green concept in students project work.

With a Bachelor degree in textile and fashion, she is always interested into studying the properties of fabric, basics of colour and texture.

This project began as an exploration of fabric construction methods.

It involves engaging stakeholders and collaborators in the processes of designing, making and testing of textiles. The strategy used is upcycling of fabric remnants sourced from the local textile mill in Elgin. The approach to upcycling, with which this practice is aligned, treats the textile source as laden with information that guides the form of new fabrics out the textile waste. Subsequently, the fabrics were sent for testing in Portugal for the creation of Almalaguês- Spanish sneakers.

Awarded as a Highly Commendable project in September 2020 for the SIE Fresh Idea Competition.

Dialect heritage aims to protect and promote dialect heritage. It focuses on remote communities in Scotland for their decline number of dialect speakers. Also, the research concentrate on Doric language as research example and the final outcome is related on it. The final outcome visualizes the idea of ‘dialect heritage make up a part of cultural heritage in the community’.In addition, this board game can be used as a catalyst, with youngsters meeting up with older native Scots speakers. During this process, youngsters have the opportunity to discover and begin to use new words, and the speakers found their inheritors and pass on their dialect knowledge. It could solve the problem of fewer dialect inheritors in remote communities.

This project used design as a medium to explore the significance of ordinary furniture to residents’ daily life and the feasibility of sustainable development of furniture.

As a necessity of residents’ daily life, furniture hides many unknown stories and secrets and also carries emotions of different users. Every piece of furniture has a special meaning for everyone. However, the fast-paced life of modern society makes the circulation of products faster, and the replacement rate of furniture is increased so waste is inevitable. It is regretted that many furniture worthies of being preserved are therefore neglected and then abandoned. The reason for its waste is not only because of damaged furniture, style changes, and residents’ relocation but also ignore daily furniture and the lack of environmental awareness. Although there are endless related education projects, how to implement residents’ behaviours into daily life is the pinpoint of this project.

This project traced the circulation process of furniture, explored and redefined the meaning of furniture to residents, and finally designed a solution to extend the service life of furniture accordingly.

The Exploding School: The Potential for Outdoor Learning and Play Space in Dublin’s North East Inner City along the Royal Canal

Please find a short image diary of my process and outcomes at the bottom of this text.

Background and overview of project:

Note on Language: NEIC refers to the North East Inner City of Dublin, a geographical area with a population of over 18,000 people.

Covid-19 has exposed the quality and accessibility of our public spaces in Dublin. When schools in the Republic of Ireland closed on March 12th to prevent the spread of Covid-19,  the availability of outdoor space was thrown into stark relief. It was my assumption coming into the research that the NEIC was already suffering from a lack of public spaces and invitations to spend time in the area outside of commercial spaces. It was also my belief that this lack of possibility to freely gather outside without spending money disproportionately impacts young people.

I chose to focus my research on the needs of schools in the NEIC as major stakeholders who would benefit from an increase in outdoor playspace, interviewing teachers in the local community and young people who live and go to school in the area.  Through engaging with schools I found that space for schools in the NEIC is critical not just to facilitate play and engagement during Covid-19, but also to provide space to play for pupils, many of whom do not have gardens or are living in temporary emergency accommodation due to the acute rental and public housing crisis in Ireland.

Space to play and the possibility of learning through play is a vital aspect of a young person’s wellbeing and development. However research also shows its relationship to the wellbeing of the broader community. In particular, play in public space, either on pavement, the street, the immediate public realm has been shown to have a vital role in breaking down social isolation.

In the existing literature written on improving a young person’s experience in the NEIC, we often see a heavy focus on preventing “anti-social” behaviour and increased police presence. However the effect of this fear of people gathering outside has been to remove many places to rest or gather outdoors, leaving more vulnerable street users such as older people, children, people with specific mobility needs at a loss for space in the city.

When it comes to a young person’s experience of the city at street level in the NEIC, we do not find many playful touchpoints in the immediate public realm. Through speaking to teachers and young people themselves, I found many young people who live and go to school in the NEIC carry negative associations with the urban environment, often associating it with rising levels homelessness due to the ongoing housing crisis in Ireland. Many also associate it with negative interactions with police, experiencing or witnessing racism, or being hit by traffic.

A lack of public space which invites play and is accessible to young people leaves us with the self perpetuating narrative of anti social behaviour – if the urban environment is solely to be used for commerce or travel, we face the problem that anyone spending time in it who is not performing these roles is at risk of being seen as acting in an “anti social” manner.

To address this, I am proposing built interventions into the Royal Canal to create new opportunities for play and pedagogical engagement with the city.

As Ward and Fyson write in Streetwork: The Exploding School:

“Just as the school should be open to the community, so should the community be open to the school. All resources of the community are educational resources.” [Fyson, Ward, 1975]

I chose to visualise this possibility through the introduction of mooring points along a specific stretch of the Royal Canal. The site was picked after a process of mapping the schools and distribution on young people in the area. The Royal Canal was built in the 1700’s as a motorway of its’ time, to link Dublin port with North western counties, however it is now largely used for foot and bike travel. Focusing on the water of the canal based on young people’s observations around it, I chose to imagine mooring points for activities like boat racing and raft building, and as spaces that could add focus to the huge biodiversity of the canal beds.  Collecting and building objects is a tradition in the inner city particularly around October and halloween when bonfires are lit. These skills could be brought to raft building, or attention could be brought to the huge amount of native plants which grow along the canal as pedagogical activities and embodied learning.

I went through several stages of research from critical inquiry and interviews, to quantitative mapping of the area, to ethnographic observation and workshops with young people who live and go to school in the area.

It is the hope of my project that I will use the work and insights gained to build a proposal for a community build project in partnership with a youth project in the area. I am currently working on the proposal for this, and would be interested to hear of any similar community based building projects happening in the UK or Ireland.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to my project in particular the young people who took part in the workshops and teachers who gave their time to talk to me. For any further information or to read more about my process, please feel free to email me at rosi.j.leonard@gmail.com

With a curious mindset to unpick and discover hidden opportunities for design intervention, Fanechka seeks to understand behavioural insights from psychologists and scientists to nudge people towards a more sustainable form of living. Can Design play this role when assessing behaviours of communities collectively? She has a previous background in the interior design and architecture sector with her focus now shifted on projects that aim to understand the social and cultural complexity directly influenced by various biases, social norms and spaces.

Fanechka’s Final Project:  How might we promote pro-environmental behaviours to create sustainable neighbourhoods?

Communities and Climate Change are complex challenges that force us to act in a certain way due to various systemic issues. Based on the COMB model tool provided by the behavioural insights team in London, I directed my research to find motivators and opportunities that drove people to act a certain way.
Understanding and analysing these behavioural insights to drive social change has moulded this project.
Making the language of climate action and environmental sustainability more inclusive and accessible to groups of people from various class structures had built the foundation of this project. Can we multiply and amplify certain behaviours to create a new and pronounced sense of identity to those communities that are tied with complexities? This project does not intend to focus on one specific behaviour, as sustainability is a journey with one success action resulting in us taking the next action – this was uncovered through various forms of research.

Visualizing the whole community as a complex system within which a collection of design interventions take place would help in the shift towards adopting sustainable lifestyles. Collective behaviours could then influence individuals due to social norms or perceived values.
As the local council carefully creates change to its infrastructures it needs to also ingrain behaviours within this system simultaneously to have the community working as an ecosystem.

Proposal:   WHITE CITY CARES
The design outcome considers behaviours projected by citizens of a social housing estate in London. Based on these behaviours, there are 3 different parts that work in cohesion to instil certain values among residents i.e pro-environmental.

‘White City Cares’ inspires and empowers people from different backgrounds, cultural values and upbringings to inspire, learn and take action individually or collectively to help live as a part of the ecosystem.

Brief detail on the design process is mentioned under each slide.

A multidisciplinary designer with a socially engaged practice. Her practice-led research looks at creating accessible and democratic engagement processes and toolkits for public space and land research to mobilize alternative voices and experiences of the landscape. From sensory and sound mapping to spatial imaginaries, she is exploring ways in which notions such as ‘having a voice’ can go beyond the metaphorical, and sensory engagement can create accessible consultation processes.

Having delivered a diverse body of collaborative work internationally she has worked with experts across art, design, architecture and science to create work that is socially and environmentally driven. This includes public installations and engagement projects for TATE Britain, London Design Week, Hello Wood International Architecture Summer University, KÉK – Center of Contemporary Architecture and Istanbul Biennale.

She received I-Portunus European Union artist mobility grant to work with CCA: Center of Contemporary Art in Glasgow – as part of their ‘School for Civic Imagination’ public engagement programme and was awarded IDENSITAT ‘Sound of our Cities’, a Creative Europe Cultural Collaboration grant to deliver an urban sound mapping project in Barcelona this year.

Coming from a Product Design background in Politecnico di Torino I am now finishing a MA in Innovation Design and Environmental Design.

The following study explores what the digital support for mental health is, and the relationship that people have with it. The research is based on interactions with people connected with mental health support. Different methods were used to get information from the people, such as digital interactive workshops and video interviews.

Stage1. Observation. The first step in the research came from the analysis of the current online support for mental health. This observation was intended to be a starting point in the understanding of the topic, and at the same time it has turned out to be the beginning point for the understanding of the problems connected to this service.

Stage2. DeskResearch. The literature was done to better understand the potential of the digital tools in the mental health sector, following the citations and the references from other articles in the same field. The study of the literature concluded in the analysis of different therapies ( CBT, ACT ) used in the digital online services, and of the digital tools used by therapists as extra tools for their sessions.

Stage3. Interviews. The interviews were done to experts of the field to receive their viewpoint of the digital mental health support compared with the more traditional face to face therapy. During the lockdown therapists were obliged to use digital media to get in touch with their patients and conduct their sessions. The feedback from the therapists interviewed were absolutely positive and encouraging for the future of the sector. A therapist though underlined the problems about the accessibility of digital mental health, especially for the lack of safe places where to do online sessions, as reported by some of his patients.

Stage4. Workshop. The workshop was meant to get information and experiences from the users of the mental health support and digital mental health support. It was a fully online and interactive workshop designed to help people to speak about their personal experiences in an open way, ensuring the maximum privacy. The results were, again, focused on the problems of accessibility of different online services, above young adults leaving with family, not feeling at ease to have online sessions with the possibility of someone hearing from another room.

Stage5. Modelling. The designing of the intervention came exactly from the problem found in the previous research: the accessibility of digital mental health. This idea consists in a net of SafeRooms to be located in cities and urban areas. A SafeRoom is simply a room in which your privacy is guaranteed, where it is possible to access the digital support systems that already exist online. Inside these rooms you can find all the tools you might need during a complete digital session. To be free and open this net of rooms will be placed in public and open spaces. Libraries, schools and universities are the best locations, but there could be many others. The important thing is to give people a safe place where they can feel comfortable while having mental health support.

The renderings of the intervention were given to the participants of the workshop to get feedback, that were positive and people were giving interesting stimuli for future possibilities of this service.

Conclusion. This journey brought to the definition of a problem that some people are facing now and probably more people will in the future. The intervention is just the first step to try to resolve this situation, but is a good base for further research.
The next steps for this design project are to keep organizing workshops with users to codesign the layout of the SafeRooms and their more suitable locations. Another extremely important perspective is that the initial concept was based on the idea “to make mental health support in step with the times of technology”.This project has to be fluid and able to change as fast as technology evolves.

‏More information in the attached document

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I have a background in Architecture and have always been interested in exploring lived experiences. I am inspired by how narratives can play a part in shaping culture, influencing change in systems and attributing new meanings to spaces.

My graduate project was focussed on exploring the gap between the representational aspects and the built material reality of cities. My effort was to mediate an experience through a dialogue between the city and its people by challenging everyday conditions in urban streets. The result was an audio experience that could serve to dismantle the built, objective perceptions of the city and re-orient human perspectives. It is rooted in the idea that people form dynamic, iterative relationships with the spaces around them and this can be used to transform the urban experience.

As a designer with a foundation in architecture, I am fascinated with how spaces can be well-utilized to improve the quality of life in society. I aim to understand how people use the space around them by applying user-oriented design research methods to everyday problems. As a graduate student in design innovation and environmental design, my goal is to uncover the layers to problems in food sourcing in crowded cities and arriving at creative solutions. I have explored possibilities for change and hope to continue learning and growing from the research done for this project.

INTRODUCTION

Fresh fruits and vegetables at your doorstep are what I consider to be a sign of progress. Getting your hands dirty and working towards ensuring that progress is how I envision the direction for society’s prosperity. Sourcing food in a sustainable way is something that a lot of designers and professionals have been trying to figure out. Farming locally can ensure not only a steady supply of groceries for yourself but also help resolve the shortage of resources in the world. I have always believed that together we can achieve more. The pandemic has shown us the importance of banding together as a civilization. The support and kindness we can offer each other collectively can prepare us for any unforeseen problems. This can be a broad concept and difficult to navigate where to begin with.

In this fast-paced and ever-changing world, the demand and need for basic amenities like food and water are increasing. There is tremendous pressure on the world’s resources, and we are not fully aware of the consequences that are yet to follow. I am interested in finding a way to live in a society where we can source our food ourselves. We are dependent on grocery stores and supermarkets for our daily fruit and vegetable needs. What if there is a way to find an alternate source of food that doesn’t rely solely on other systems. This idea of a sustainable way of living first came to me during my undergraduate studies. I visited a distant relative who was living in the countryside with a small farm in their backyard. They are an elderly couple who now use their retirement savings to live a clean holistic living by growing their own food. I was fascinated with this concept of sustainable living. But living in a city, I didn’t have enough resources to make this a reality yet. All my groceries have been store-bought. But amongst many reasons, not having the benefit of having your own plot of land to farm with all the right resources and time are some of the reasons I want to explore through this project.

The next experience showed me the importance of locally sourced produce in society. A few years ago, I was living in a community in the south of India called Auroville, outside of any Indian authority or laws and functions as an independent city. The philosophy of this town is to “a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity”. Here I was able to experience a holistic life where I ate locally sourced food. I witnessed a pretty different environment from where I grew up. In the city, slowly people were losing connection with their neighbors. When I was a kid it was a common practice to gather in common spaces and have a chat or share stories in the community. While living in Auroville, I witnessed the same feeling of togetherness with the quality of food we shared. Here, all the food was locally sourced, and the establishments were also privately owned. I witnessed a healthier lifestyle through food that was independent of any corporation or business. My mission to obtain a close-by supply of fresh fruits and vegetables was rooted more than ever with this experience of my life. I want to be able to use gardening as a tool to be the starting point to reach a sustainable way of life in the future. As a designer, I hope to use the tools and skills I have been equipped with to make a positive contribution to society, starting with the area of food and farming which is a topic I have always been intrigued with. Through various research methods, I have explored the various aspects and characteristics that are attached to growing your own food and the related services that are currently present.

PLANNING

INITIAL RESEARCH
Community gardens are a key part of urban cities that create a common space for growing your own produce. Such spaces help people who don’t have their own land because of space limitations in a city. They are an integral part of enhancing the beauty of a neighborhood. I came across a paper which explores the effects of a community garden in improving the collective development of an urban neighborhood. This paper informs the joined efforts of a diverse community is favorable for advancing future. The community gardens that were “multi-functional” and “met social needs” were most succeeding. (Yeager, 2020) I have tried to understand the connection between people and their community and how these existing resources can be enhanced to result in something beneficial for everyone. I am also interested in finding a way to live in a society where we can rely on each other when it comes to source food ourselves.

At the start of the project, I realized that I just had the bare minimum information on food sourcing or farming and had only the passion in the subject, to begin with. I started exploring different resources to broaden my knowledge to discover the possibilities I could go to. I found out about a webinar on Eventbrite organized by Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) called Food Sourcing Solutions which at once caught my eye. The topic that was discussed was a live project conducted by graduate students along with collaborators and stakeholders from their community in Chicago, Illinois. Attending this webinar proved to be instrumental in setting the ground running for me. I got a rough understanding of a design project similar to mine. Here, the students spoke about the multiple solutions they had arrived at by prototyping their ideas and concepts with the community they were designed for. Through desk research, I found various news articles, journals, and reports that were helping me further understand the different layers and scope for this project. As shown below, I sketched out a rough mind map of what aspects of food I wanted to address. This helped me gather my thoughts and focus on growing fruits and vegetables and how this could be achieved.

DESK RESEARCH
The relationship between sustainability and farming was my main concern to address. I began investigating the concept and value of sustainable farming. I came across one of Unilever’s initiatives that emphasize the positive effects and more importantly the urgency for sustainable farming practices. Reducing the effects of climate change and benefitting the farmer’s community were some of the topics they were hoping to be working towards to meet the demand for goods and services. They also mentioned how providing farmers with a better yield would not only improve their lives but also the surrounding communities. However, this highlighted the role of an organization with sustainable ways to source food which was not the direction I aimed for. Through this project, I was hoping to find a way to meet the world’s growing needs without destroying all of the earth’s resources through individual contributions. To better investigate the effects of food sourcing on a person and their community, I would have to study the different nuances of what sustainability means. All of the preliminary online search for buzz words like sustainability, community, farming, etc. swept up pages of information with relation to environmental or economic impact. I was curious to learn about the social connection to sustainability. According to this paper on placemaking, different factors are responsible for the outcome of urban community garden projects. Here the emphasize that a community garden’s success is not only measured on its scale or the yield of crops. By acknowledging the effects of community gardens, I want to explore a way to incorporate into a variation of “home gardens”.

The pandemic has taken its toll over the world and people over the globe have gone through similar experiences with the lockdown. Having to isolate from society is the sole connection experienced world-wide. But the importance of supporting each other is a core value we can learn from this catastrophic event. I had to enquire more about whether the attitudes of people were changing in a more positive light was accurate or just optimistic delusions. I came across an article published by Civil Eats, a news source sharing stories surrounding the American food system. Here, a group of commercial farmers who usually do not grow fruits and vegetables is now contributing to helping the nearby town in times of need. This showed the potential of battling a shortage of food as a collective effort.

But why choose to grow it ourselves? For starters, it is an opportunity to learn a new skill. To have the closest nutritious food source that can improve our physical and mental health is always a plus. It could be cost-effective if done using the right methods but more importantly making us more independent. This article supported that theory which speaks about a retiree in her 60s from Singapore who overcame a shortage of food at the local store by growing it herself. Previously, she was unable to find the time to garden more often. There were also several other examples and data collected highlighting people’s increasing interest in home farming. These stories substantiate my belief that farming at home is possible despite having no prior knowledge or space for it. Not only is it achievable but also has mental health benefits. An article from the Guardian demonstrated the health and socio-cultural benefits of growing your own food. This article was about a man renting out a small space and growing vegetables in the garden for himself and helping neighbors do the same. He was able to live a healthier lifestyle for an entire year without ever going to the store. This article supported my idea of bringing people together using farming specifically to become more self-sufficient.

The connection between urban community empowerment and the benefits of farming was the next area I was curious to get insights from. I read about a paper that examines the positive and negative reasons behind the development of a community garden in an urban context. This was necessary to contend my assumption that cities do not have enough space to farm individually. Hence community gardens could be a great alternate to not having a private plot of spare land to grow crops. The purpose and functionality of community gardens or allotments were the main focus on my desk research stage. I briefly researched organizations that contribute to gardening and urban development that came across 2 places that I was aiming to speak at a later stage of my project. ‘Urban Roots’ in Glasgow and ‘Urban Growth’ in London would have been a great source of information to understand the role they played in their communities. Unfortunately, this was the start of the lockdown, and all places were temporarily closed and proved to be a roadblock for me at this stage.

LIVED EXPERIENCES
I began combining my desk research with my personal experiences that could also contribute to my research planning. I had participated in a bamboo construction and organic farming workshop in June 2018. The workshop run by Ar. Richard Belho of Zynorique Initiatives at Nagaland, India. Here I got a better understanding of how farming can be conducted in a cost-effective and organic way that benefitted their community. The farm was in a small village where there were not a lot of amenities that we find easily in most cities. I got to be a part of every stage of the gardening process, from planting the seeds to plowing the land. Not only that but also every member of the staff was putting in their contribution towards the farm. They were able to save money; instead of buying tomatoes and chilies, they were growing it themselves. This is when I was able to see how a small community with limited resources was able to be self-sufficient by working together. Another experience I had was coincidently on my way to get groceries in Glasgow, where I came across Greyfriars Community Garden. I was amazed to see it thriving in the middle of a global pandemic unaffected. I went on to explore other community gardens to confirm my theory that these spaces were functioning successfully considering the current situation.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

FIELD OBSERVATIONS  
Assessing the current state of community gardens around me, I went through a report on Glasgow’s community gardens. The research conducted in this report was to expand on the connection between sustainability and the urban community. It also speaks about a grassroots organization called Just Food which engages in collaborative community projects to feed the local community. I stumbled upon ‘Stalled Spaces’, a Glasgow City Council project on the closed gate at Greyfriars community garden. Because the place was closed like every other establishment, I was unable to find anyone to talk to and I observed the surroundings to find any information. This project was started to support local community groups and organizations across the city to develop stalled, under-utilized spaces. These temporary spaces aimed to improve the health and well-being of the community by increasing community engagement. This space was meant to open up spaces for recreation and making them safer for the public. To my dismay, I was unable to find any proof that this city council project was a success. I visited 6 of the community gardens, based solely on their location to my cycling radius. The first 3 community gardens I visited were on the south side of Glasgow. These were located in the middle of residential spaces with abandoned plots. The current situation of these spaces was in bad shape. They were completely abandoned with no sign of greenery, and some were reduced to being unused spaces again. The next 3 community gardens were situated by the Scottish Canals. These were also located close to a residential neighborhood, but it was different from the other ones I visited. Spiers Wharf, for example, is inside a well-maintained residential area and is not easily available for everyone. Since it was temporarily closed for outside access, not much information about the garden was available.

After visiting these community gardens, I was able to gain some insights on what to explore next. I decided to look into a few other city council projects to see if there is a pattern forming there. This was meant to help me work towards a solution to design a more functioning community garden. I noticed some of these “stalled spaces” initiatives were in neighborhoods that were not maintained properly. I planned to explore the urban rejuvenation aspect of the project to see how to bring people together and make them feel safe and look for any opportunities to make these community gardens feasible and accessible for everyone. Based on this one particular city council project it was obvious that these spaces were not living up to the potential. My deduction by this stage was that community gardens are currently failing to be a good enough food source for a person. However, I had to be sure before making a snap judgment and dismissing community gardens altogether based on just a few visits. I created a rough stakeholder map that wasn’t based on a lot of data, but it was a base ground to look at broadly the end-user to my design idea.

ENGAGEMENT

INTERACTIONS AND LIVE CASE STUDY
My reasoning from the observations to know the exact direction I have to take to reach a long-term goal had to be explored further. Starting with interviewing people who are experts and non-experts in farming. I drafted emails inquiring for stakeholders to interview by branching out to my personal and professional networks. Not everyone got back to me, but I was able to get some interesting leads. But it wasn’t too much of an issue as I soon found out after connecting with my extended family and friends’ circles on social media platforms. I discovered an organic farm providing fresh produce in a locality in Mumbai. Through mutual friends, I asked to set up an interview, but it did not go as planned.

INTERVIEWS
My first interview was with my family’s longtime friend who shared the first experience I had that gave me the inspiration for this project. They were able to provide another perspective to mine. I asked them several questions by breaking it down to simple general questions to get them comfortable with the subject matter and then dug deeper to see the reasoning behind their responses. The first one was from the perspective of people who turned to become expert farmers without prior knowledge. They continue to rely on themselves to source their own food. They originally lived in a crowded city and were able to achieve this holistic living after moving to the countryside, where space was abundant. The second interview happened after I attempted other research methods because I wasn’t able to get people to agree to sit down and have a chat. The second interviewee was an amateur gardener from Woodlands Community Garden in Glasgow and has been using the community garden in their neighborhood for the past 10 years. They lived alone in the city, so the community garden activity was more of social activity for them rather than as a way to source food. I downloaded my notes and data collected into a “journey map” describing the key elements for each interview and the recurring themes from these separate worlds. The main element that started to inform the project’s main concern of successfully growing food was that the gardening plot was available in close proximity and it because it was a platform to socialize. Also, both were unaffected by any concerns with food sourcing in the lockdown.

ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
I created a questionnaire through Google Forms to branch out and reach out to more people quickly. The response from the questionnaire was overwhelming because in a few days I managed to get a total of 150 responses. This itself was a positive sign that people were interested in this area of food sourcing. Here again, 3 key themes jumped out which I felt were interesting to explore later. I discovered that people were:

·       open to the idea of avoiding supermarkets completely.

·       they were willing to share a space with their neighbors.

·       would welcome help and resources to farm at home.

ANONYMOUS USER EXPERIENCES
The form sparked a conversation amongst people and they happily came forward with their personal stories with farming at home.

Following are anonymous experience-based personas I drew out that addressed some of the insights I made from the preliminary observations and assumptions.

·       Persona 1

She is a middle-aged doctor who finds time in her busy schedule in a crowded city to grow a few essential used daily in the kitchen. Returning home, she plucks a few herbs in the community courtyard to prepare dinner. If shad more space and time she would love to grow more fresh ingredients.

·       Persona 2

Working professional woman who has now found time in the lockdown to grow an abundant supply of micro-greens and pulses using plastic containers piling up at home. She has coped with space shortage with resources at home which would otherwise just land in a landfill somewhere.

·       Persona 3

Stay at home mother of 2 young children who has converted the rooftop of her house as a farm. Living in the countryside which has a more favorable climate she has utilized her skills to source all of the groceries at home. Diary products and other food groups are what is store-brought, and she would love to expand into gathering those at home too.

LIVE CASE STUDY
Equipped with all the data I collected from talking and interacting with experts and stakeholders, I revisited my initial analysis from my field observations. In passing conversations with friends here in Glasgow, I was recommended to visit a couple of community gardens that disputed my theory that community gardens are a failing concept to grow food in the city.

WOODLANDS COMMUNITY GARDEN
This one was a well-designed space that showed an engaging community of people. There were other amenities provided which made the community engagement more of a success. Although they were currently shut, it was a beautifully designed space that is thriving with people socializing and growing produce. Multi-level spaces to maintain social distancing rules and enjoy the space were well-designed. A community garden with pizza oven and barbeque grill were also available as per the weather permits. Office spaces with a deck for social events are usually open to the public were closed now yet there were people using the space because of its design.

MARYHILL COMMUNITY GARDEN
This community garden I came across while cycling through Glasgow. It is located right by the main road blending in perfectly with the surrounding giving it a welcoming look. I figured this was thriving because of its positioning giving access to passersby on foot or in a vehicle. It also provided a green buffer space living enough to drown out noises and distractions from any traffic on the main road.

GARNETHILL COMMUNITY GARDEN
This one was suggested by a friend who lives close to it. This was smaller compared to the other 2 I visited but definitely functioning. It was beautifully decked with inventive planters made from recycled furniture and household fixtures. Though the place was small it was well-maintained from the conditions of the growing plants. The personalization of the space showed the investment of the community.

DATA ANALYSIS

EARLY INSIGHTS
I referred to IDEO’s Human-Centred Guide among other such toolkits I found online. I attempted some of the exercises and activities to understand navigating the data to reach the desired results. I started by attempting another way to address my goal for this project since the start of it. Asking “5 whys” was a useful tool to understand the depth of all the information I acquired from interactions and observing spaces. Questioning the first “why” showcased the reason to start was from a desire to learn a new skill. After digging deeper with each “why”, I was able to decipher core themes emerging from them. I put them in the form of “how might we” questions.

·       How might we create a sustainable food source through a community: to achieve a sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

·       How might we become less dependent on supermarkets: to become more prepared for the future.

·       How might we reduce food waste using gardening: to avoid a shortage of food.

This process helped me arrive at the long-term goal which was to work towards living in a self-sufficient sustainable community. But before that, I would have to prioritize the problem to reach that goal. With the “frame your design challenge” exercise, I tried to define the possibilities of taking practical steps towards making a change. I decided to concentrate on gardening as a stepping stone to reach the goal of an alternate source of food. I studied the changes in existing issues in the context of the stakeholder’s environment, currently getting in the way of being independent.

SYNTHESIS AND OUTCOMES

OPPORTUNITIES
The last exercise helped me identify opportunities to arrive at possible solutions. Changes needed to happen to the current systems in place to explore opportunities and solutions. I began asking the following questions like how might we make accessible space for everyone and keep people interested in learning something to be more self-reliant? To make these solutions a reality I had to uncover the actions required to be done. Following the worksheet “Impact Ladder” from the IDEO toolkit handbook, I looked at the changes that are deliverable in the stakeholders’ actions. My field observations in the start revealed that community gardens were not living up to its potential. Therefore, I needed to focus on the reasons for the ones that are functioning and contradicted my assumption. My questionnaire regenerated responses that supported my reasoning from the desk research. The perception that people were enthusiastic in gardening at home but for reasons like not having space, time, or confidence in skills to develop it further. My next motive was to find a way to generate a way to get people excited about it as a hobby but not let it fade away when other priorities take over.

I had to understand the different characteristics in the user’s environment that factored in their behavior towards gardening at home. But layering in this activity into a person’s life without making it tedious. I don’t want it to be a process of imposing my idea on people just because I had faith in it.  I had to make sense of the users’ context to begin forming a solution. Creating an ecosystem map suggested in the IDEO handbook, revealed the scope for change in the user’s environment, community, services, and institutions that contribute to their behavior in society. For the user to be consistent, they would have to have more access to the resources and time to be an expert. They should be aware of what is already existing in their community by better ways of communicating with other like-minded people in the neighborhood. As for the services and institutions that inform the user should be made available through a precise medium. So that they can be better advised on how to use the resources that they might not be aware of.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

IDEATION
I was hoping to start a ripple effect in inspiring and improving the overall lifestyle and well-being of society. The close possible outcomes that can be generated to begin having that effect is what I explored next in this stage of my research. After refining the insights, I stepped into ideating the opportunities for change in the different stakeholder groups. I mapped out the shifts that needed to happen to arrive at the final goal in the form of a service or a product. Loosely following the steps in this activity guide (theory of change), I created some rough concept ideas against each of the shifts. These shifts or changes were a cumulative result of all the analysis and insights from the users I interacted with. In the map below, I placed red post-its’ on the concepts I wrote down that could have the most impact with “addresses this well” and the pink post-its’ on the concepts that have the potential to have an impact with “addresses this somewhat”.

FINAL ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS
Mapping out the concepts with the areas I wanted to make a difference in was starting to make sense after this exercise. I was happy to find out that I was arriving at some concrete deliverable ideas. In this next step, I bunched up the concepts that had the most impact (the red post-its).

·       Local neighborhood pamphlets/ newsletters/ advertising-

This service or product addresses the problem of misinformation because of technological issues or being unaware of how to use digital platforms.

·       Portable mobile structures in transition spaces-

This product addresses the need for a gardening space that can be flexible to the users’ limitations of space and accessibility. By allowing the user to place them in a familiar space, it has a better chance of blending into their routine and making it less of a chore.

·       Fixed structures placed strategically for different purposes-

This product would have to be placed after careful planning of each neighborhood’s shared spaces to ensure active participation. These zones will have to be either designed for specific vegetations or depending on the stage of growth.

After focusing on these 3 concepts, I began narrowing it down to one concept I can design now for this project. I started eliminating the concepts that I felt would not hold merit to be successful enough. Since all the types of vegetation require specific conditions for growing I researched the basic fundamental of gardening. A wide range of tutorial videos and hacks on how to garden are existing resources. I felt that designing a better medium through service just to spread awareness to people is not the direction I intended for this project. After watching a Ted talk on how Rob Greenfield transformed his life into becoming an expert from scratch was inspiring. The instructions and guidance from his blogs helped me design a few basic essentials I would have to incorporate into the final product. The elements that were necessary for a beginner were my base point for envisioning the final product. The first advice was to start small, next was to ensure there was access to light and to ensure a healthy growing plant. The last advice, which I thought was most important was to check locally what is available. The following are the key outcomes I would have to incorporate into my design.

·       From not knowing where to start to be able to see actual results: This would have to be a medium for people to socialize and learn to grow together. Thus, being well-informed combining with all the information found individually.

·       From not having space and time to be able to garden anyway: This would have to eliminate any space constraints in most urban cities and be an interesting and easy way to accommodate a busy lifestyle.

IMPLEMENTATION

CONCEPT ANALYSIS
The final concept I narrowed it down to with the help of the last exercise was to create an educational toolkit. This product would have the resources to start the process of gardening by including information, containers for planting, and a set of seeds for the basic ingredients for daily use. I wanted to focus on one of the facets of gardening. By concentrating on the “seed” stage of gardening I can contribute to changing an individual’s lifestyle.  I read a chapter from a report stating that the joint efforts of both the individual and their community are important in a successful urban garden. “Urban gardens can further serve as a vehicle to engage individuals and communities in efforts toward other social and environmental initiatives” (PDF) Urban Community Gardens as Multimodal Social Spaces, 2020) This helped me move ahead in the direction of addressing the problem in bite-sized solutions. The way I see it is that literally planting seeds is the first step to a green future.

DESIGN SOLUTION

FINAL OUTCOME
The journey map highlights the effects each element of the design will have on the user. The toolkit will hold containers that will be designed in a way so that it can be placed on a shelf or even hung from a hook. By making it mobile I believe it will be helping the users’ who lack space and natural light. This design will later suggest shared transition spaces can be used in case one does not have the conditions for the seeds to sprout after being tested out with the public. It would create an atmosphere to socialize, interact, and learn from each other. I believe this could bring people together to inspire more people. I would also integrate into the design a way for the user to personalize their containers to have a special connection to it. This way each person will hopefully have a personal intention to succeed with this experiment. I prototyped some alternatives to how these containers could be woven into the users’ life. One method was to place them along with shared transition spaces like corridors, parking lot, alleyways between buildings, provided that they have access to natural light and drainage. This would solve the space problem in cities. Another idea was to place the containers along spaces used in their daily commute like en-route to work, to exercise, or even just running errands. This would solve any more space issues by using place-making to ensure desired results. Also, these public spaces can be presented in a fun and interactive way to generate investment. I also had to consider the risks and pitfalls that can cause the product to fail or at least make the user demotivated to stay invested. The seeds would probably still not sprout in spite of perfect placement, they could be still be neglected after decorating and personalizing it. I would have to prototype elements of the design with different stakeholders to see how effective it really is. The stakeholders ranging from experts to amateurs. Since I was unable to prototype and reiterate the specifications, I got feedback for the design ideas from peers and colleagues with varied skill-levels in gardening. I would also like to take this forward and prototype the “container” at a local community garden.

I have broken it down into three main categories that will give a shot to capture the individual and their community’s behavior when it comes to growing food. The “seed” stage will help inspire aspiring gardeners to continue learning, the second stage of “sapling” when the seeds sprout will be pushed to a larger radius of using spaces shared with neighbors guaranteeing community engagement. Finally, the last stage of “yield” is the scope for design to be explored. Here I would like to design a system where it can work with the help of a community garden. Thus, forming a full circle of starting at home to end at a sustainable home outdoors. In the future, I would like to design a service that connects people and places iterating on different designs that blend with community engagement programs.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

FUTURE GOALS
For a community to achieve the kind of self-sufficiency where freshly grown food can be found at our doorstep is still a long way off. I believe that by having addressed even one small aspect of gardening at home can help solve problems in food sourcing. And by doing so, as a collective, we can be more self-reliant amongst each other. I would want to inspect the scope of gardening in different user environments like school or workplace. Learning to be skilled can be incorporated at an early age by introducing nursery beds in schools as well as in-office campuses. I also hope this research can collect feedback to see any development in society. Above all, I want to see this become a contribution to making lasting change in the world. Once the world gets back to its daily grind, I would like to develop on the scope of the project once we get back to our old routines. The importance of community togetherness should not be lost when the world slowly recovers from the pandemic. That would be interesting information to study and see if we would arrive at different solutions.