Play is good for us, and we are never too old to play. Play is synonomous with fun, but it can also help us learn things and develop relationships. For an artist, play is a brilliant tool: it can be used to challenge how people perceive their environment, and also encourage audiences to get involved rather than simply observe. Play is central to this sprint, and participants from all over the world worked together to devise ways in which creative technology could be used to inject some fun and meaning into public space.

In February 2012, the British Council and Watershed brought together twelve artists and designers from across East Asia and the UK, for a five-day sprint at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio around the theme of 'The Playable City'.

Drawn from across cultures and disciplines, participants from the UK were installation artist Tine Bech, designer Julian Sykes, sound artist Kathy Hinde, visual artist Mathew Trivett and product designer Vahakn Matossian. International guests included Australian theatre makers Leticia Cáceres and Angela Betzien of RealTV, Japanese product designer/sound artist Yuri Suzuki, also from Japan visual artist Megumi Matsubara, Korean duo Bang & Lee, and Malaysian composer Ng Chor Guan.

The five-day Sprint encouraged participants to investigate ideas through a process of discussion, sharing, making and testing; and enabled participants to make valuable connections that will last well beyond the end of the project.

You can read updates from the week's project journals here and see some of the pictures the British Council took here.

This video is an overview of the week, featuring interviews with participants along with demonstrations of the prototypes developed during the Sprint.

The Playable City Sprint is a Watershed initiative delivered in collaboration with the British Council.

Related Links:
The Playable City Sprint Project Journal
The British Council

Posted on Fri 24 Feb 2012.

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