VENTURE ARTS COLLABORATION
Early October we made contact with Venture Arts, a charitable organisation based in Hulme, that hosts a series of artistic projects for individuals with learning difficulties. We contacted Venture Arts, hoping their local knowledge of Hulme might help us formulate ideas for our own event. Through conversation with staff we discovered they needed support constructing a ‘Photobooth’ for Manchester Metropolitan University’s Birley Community Day. The photo booth would provide a backdrop for images of ‘70s Hulme, in front of which people could dress-up and have their pictures taken.
CONSTRUCTION
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ASSEMBLY
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PHOTOBOOTH EVENT
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On the Birley Community Day Anon Architects assisted staff from Venture Arts, encouraging members of the public to have their picture taken in the photo booth. People were provided with two options when using the booth; either their picture could be taken professionally by the Venture Arts team (and later posted on their Facebook page), or they could have their picture taken on their own device. This option ensured people did not feel coerced into sharing any information, and were not prevented from enjoying our structure. The photo booth allowed us to gain knowledge on the area and its co-localities by informally talking with local people. We didn’t set agenda for our conservations, as our specific aim was to not form any preconceptions on the area, without prior thorough discussion with residents.
ANALYSING THE EVENT
The diagram above depicts the spatial qualities and movement created during the photobooth event. The first row of the four shows the movement of the room as we emptied. Upon arrival at MMU Birley Fields we emptied the room to create space for our structure.
The photobooth panels were moved into the room ready for construction. We worked together to assemble the structure, leaning panels against the walls when they were not in use. We assembled the three corners together and then attached these elements together. As we constructed the booth we considered how space should be used and how circulation would work.
The third row of diagrams depicts the layout of the room with the camera and dressing up box. As someone walks into the room they have to walk past the dress box, collect their chosen attire, and then walk past the camera into the booth.
When in the booth the camera is placed at a sufficient angle to get the best frame for photographing the users.
In the last set of diagrams the deconstruction of the booth is shown. The panels were placed at the edge of the room, then stacked together in order to be moved away as fast as possible. The panels were then transported out of the room.
HOW TO MANUAL
Once the event was completed we handed the photobooth over to Venture Arts who we had collaborated with for the project so they could use the structure for future events or other purposes. To aid them in the construction of the photobooth we designed and developed a step by step manual of how to build the structure. The manual diagramatical shows the construction process, supported by photos of Anon. architects initially building the structure. Simple and clear we hope that this will be a useful tool for Veture arts.
