Chalked Edition for Art @ the Park

 

 

A conversation sparked this impromptu edition of “priority seating”,  at the bench of Alice and Albert St (Botanic Gardens).  21th April 2013 while at Art @ the Park  

BMW Guggenheim Lab

I’m excited to be picked as part of the “City Forward” project!

Via press release – http://www.bmwguggenheimlab.org/press/current-press-release

This summer, GOOD and the BMW Guggenheim Lab launched a worldwide, online call for imaginative and unconventional ways to improve urban comfort. As part of the collaborative City Forward initiative, members of the public were invited to propose changes to a public space of their choice, taking into consideration the community, environment, architecture, landscape, and other elements that would shape the experience.

Curator Maria Nicanor has now selected the five top ideas listed here from the total of one hundred twenty submissions that came in from twenty-one countries. Each of the five will be featured on the GOOD and BMW Guggenheim Lab websites, social media channels, and in the Lab’s e-newsletter. In addition, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will work with each of the selected designers to further explore their idea.

“The goal of the BMW Guggenheim Lab is to explore and inspire forward-thinking ideas for urban life,” says Nicanor. “We are thrilled by the response we received to the City Forward initiative from citizens around the world. The selected ideas were chosen for their originality, resourcefulness, and potential, and we are interested to see what might happen next.”

PRIORITY SEATING FOR CONVERSATION
Yen Trinh, Brisbane
Conversations in public spaces present endless possibilities to build connections, create community, and make life more interesting. This submission suggests displaying signs designating “priority seating for people who want conversation” in trains, buses, and other modes of public transportation to foster a culture of friendliness.

Lighting WOW: via MOB

I never got a chance to see this back lit – looks amazing at night! Photos via Museum of Brisbane

Artwork Closes.

This artwork officially closes at RBH this week, but this project remains “open” here. 

I haven’t had the guts or time to implement certain parts of the project fully (namely the conversation starting at RBH), but overall I’m happy for the experience and have enjoyed some of the unexpected discoveries I have made along the way.   It was challenging at times in many ways.  On a personal note, this project confronted me with my own introvertedness, and the times in my life when I have held back speaking up.  

At the end, I’m not sure how many conversations it really started.  But as an art work that might not be the point or measure of success.  I hope if nothing else, it make someone laugh or sparked a thought from someone.

Thanks to those who have supported me and this project. 

I find ideas tend to stick around in my head, and I’m sure version 3.0 of this idea might pop back up sometime, somewhere.

Repost: on rb.trends

Repost: Conversation Starter on rb.trends
http://www.richardbanks.com/trends/?p=15074

I especially enjoy Richard’s other blogs that show interfaces with technology and urban places, such as the “WhatWasThere map” that lets users add historical information to maps.
http://www.richardbanks.com/trends/?p=15076

Repost: by Ivanna Mazza

http://chiquitamanzana.tumblr.com/post/3517350568/priority-seating-for-those-who-want-conversation

Thanks for repost.

RBH Platform until August 2012

When commissioned for this work, I’d been unsure what would happen after this season (namely if Translink would hand it back over to advertising revenue) . But in good news, it looks like Platform will be running until 2012. Awesome.

www.projectservices.qld.gov.au/downloads/pau_platform.pdf

Repost: on Fwd Thinking

http://fwd.mbooth.com/post/3566510878/word-daily-february-28-2011

Chatty Kathies: It’s nothing new to see a sign on a bus or train that designates space for disabled people — playing off this, Yen Trinh created priority seating for those who want to engage in conversation during their commute.

Repost on Fwd Thinking’s Word Daily.

Repost: Priority Seating For Those Who Want Conversation

Thanks for the post via Trendory.com

http://trendory.com/priority-seating-for-those-who-want-conversation.html

Repost: I Just Wanted to Say on GoGet

Thanks to Sky for letting me know about this.
Repost: “I just wanted to say” got featured in GoGet’s January Newsletter.

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FRIENDLY CITIES
Quick Question: When sitting next to a stranger on the bus, and another seat becomes available, do you:
a) always move to the empty seat as soon as possible?

b) sometimes move away, depending on your mood?

c) want to move away, but stay seated because you don’t want them to think you’re rude?

d) never move away, because you love talking to strangers?

We have no doubt that as GoGet members are such a friendly and community minded bunch of people you answered d)!

So you’ll probably be over the moon with a project called “I just wanted to say” that aims to get us all chatting.

Now we have all seen the signs designating “priority seating for the disabled” which helps to create a culture of courtesy.  However, the creators of “I just wanted to say” have – in order to encourage a “culture of friendliness” in our public spaces – created the following sign:

Any members who would like signs to stick up in their local public spaces, you can download them here.

So to all you grumps out there who answered a), keep an eye out for these signs and stay well away!

——

P.S GoGet is the carshare that Brisbane needs!! ….Don’t get me started how I sold my car with the desire to use car share, only to find coming back from Toronto that in fact the carshare scheme that had started disappeared partly because of BCC disputes.  I’ve seen it operate so well in other dense cities (with zip car in Toronto and New York), and think it is an important addition to any city’s transit choices.  Happy to say as part of encouraging higher density and transit oriented developments, I hear talk of smaller/body-corp car share schemes being investigated by developers on demonstration sites in Brisbane. It’s a start…