PROPOSAL
“what we were then, we are not now” is a new media immersive work developed as a site specific installation for the City of Calgary. Interweaving images from Calgary’s past with present experience and future technologies, using innovative personal theatre to encourage participants to “live” the experience of the character.
Executive Summary
“what we were then, we are not now” is a timeless love story told as a new media, interactive, immersive work envisioned as a site specific installation for the City of Calgary. Produced as part of the celebrations for Calgary’s designation by the Dept. of Canadian Heritage as “Canada’s Cultural Capital 2012″. Realizing the theme of Looking Back, Calgary Now and Looking Forward, by interweaving images from Calgary’s past with present experience and future technologies. Audio narrative and music played in a media device, guide the innovative personal theatre participants to “live” the experience of the character as they journey through the city streets.
“Now” Audience Participants
Audience/participants download an audio file and start playing it at a specific time and place, listening to narrative and music while walking and taking the train though Calgary’s present day streets. The narrative casts the audience member as a character, in a personal, first person voice that directs the journey. Part of the attraction of the event is that the characters walk through the city, involved in a story that is invisible to others. At selected locations, discreet, short video projections are triggered using advanced technologies, displaying images from Calgary’s past.
Documenting, through creative visuals and historical materials, the centennial anniversaries of some of the city’s cultural cornerstones: Calgary Stampede, City of Calgary Recreation, Calgary Public Library, the Pumphouse and the GRAND Theatres, as well as other memorable city milestones.
“Then” Historical Images
Once created, what we were then, we are not now, will be available as a project that could be renewed annually to become a unique cultural attraction. Many cities have historical tours, but no other city would have a site specific, participatory artwork that tourists and local individuals could enjoy. Video segments could show an image of a building that was situated on the same site, or a single horse and carriage travelling a now busy highway; creating a connection with “what we once were”. Calgary has a colourful past of boom and bust economic times and the wild west is a major cultural touchstone for the community. Highlighting “we are not now” are the obvious changes in architecture, clothing styles and social customs that are evident, but the visual material also points out indirectly, ways that humans have remained the same, with romantic love of the significant other as the underlying connecting theme.
Future Technology
Advanced technologies of today are the everyday tools of the future. In major cities all over the world a sub-culture of do-it-yourself computer hobbyists are building projects and Calgary is part of this movement. The newly opened Calgary Protospace is a community connection for skilled technologists to create and share their knowledge. Ben Reed, one of the principal organizers, supports the project and has indicated a willingness among Protospace members to assist in constructing projector housings and control methods. With small personal projectors, flat screens, infra-red wireless controls and discreet mounting brackets, it will be possible to maintain the element of surprise as the video brings a vignette of the past into the story.
Cultural and Artistic Benefit
The production of what we were then, we are not now will enhance the city of Calgary’s profile as a supporter of innovative new works that utilize advanced technology, while presenting and preserving heritage by integrating archival materials into a present narrative.
Arts Community
The major value to Calgary’s arts community will be the professional connections made within the Play the Moment Calgary (PtMC) collective. Not only the collaboration with Vancouver artists, Victoria Gibson and Jhayne Holmes, but also new links between Calgary based artists will be forged. Younger artists, such as Ryan Mueller, will be mentored and supported by the established members of the ensemble.
New links between Calgary’s diverse, creative communities, such as, world music drummers, historical archivists and technology enthusiasts will be initiated. Further, this project may seed performance or recording opportunities for PtMC ensemble or individual members in Vancouver or other areas.
The New Gallery, one of Calgary’s most innovative arts organizations, has agreed to present the production and will be supporting the project with administration, contacts, publicity, mailing list and other assistance.
The project itself will demonstrate the use of interactive technologies to create a personal experience that could be inspiring to Calgary artists. Personal narrative theatre, which utilizes the city as a stage, is a concept that builds on already existing public art audio tour downloads and a rich heritage of innovative theatre.
Call to Calgary
The residents of Calgary will have an opportunity to participate in the creation of the show by answering the “Call to Calgary”. Victoria Gibson plans to organize a general call for historical materials and stories, particularly those that refer to organizations that celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2012. Ideally, this initiative would be part of the interactive community involvement on the Calgary 2012 website. Victoria will visit volunteers and record their stories to be a part of the audio narrative that works with the related historical vignette. These volunteer voice actors and historical material contributors will enrich cultural diversity and create authentic links to Calgary’s past and present, taking social sharing to a new level.
The show will be constructed, using the most appropriate materials submitted, curated by Victoria Gibson and a selected panel of Calgary resident volunteers. The goal will be to explore the beauties of the present city, while immersed in an audio journey that is bringing forward vignettes of the past to reflect upon. Several innovative technological ideas will be explored as part of the project and the projections will add an element of wonder and surprise to the journey.
Residents and tourists may participate as characters, living a virtual life in a real-world city for the duration of the 90 minute show.
Related Public Events
Victoria Gibson is planning a series of events located at The One World Drum Company partnering with owner, and PtMC member, Roger Duncan. These events include plans for Play the Moment Calgary workshops and event after-parties with live performances by the PtMC collective. The New Gallery, as presenters of the work, may also host an artist talk, but these events will be funding dependent.
Conclusion
Victoria Gibson has received enthusiastic support for her innovative project proposal from established arts organizations and community groups who believe it would be a valuable addition to 2012 celebrations, with the possibility of becoming an annual event. Individual Calgary artists have confirmed their participation in Play the Moment Calgary, with expectations that this dynamic project will attract the required funding to be realized.
Please consider funding “what we were then, we are not now” as we believe it will be a satisfying work of art on many levels. We anticipate a high level of community involvement using social sharing tools to create a much larger internet sharing of photo, video and narrative than can be contained in the show.
The audio narrative will include improvised and composed music by Play the Moment Calgary, narratives by community members telling personal histories and a selection of historical and contemporary poems and dialogues. The audio is intentionally ambiguous and a bit surreal to encourage individuals to internalize the character’s emotional life by relating to their own life experiences.
Victoria Gibson has spent a considerable amount of time and effort coordinating and planning this event and will continue to seek additional funding sources and sponsors, in addition to requesting funding from the Calgary 2012 organization and the Canada Council for the Arts.