Featured Workshop at The International Academic Forum in Kobe, Japan

I recently took a trip to Japan to attend the The International Academic Forum (iafor) in Kobe, where I delivered a workshop with Dr Ruth Farrar, from Bath Spa University, called Utilising Technology to Unlock the Past.

The aim of the workshop was to explore how digital technologies can be shaped to change our perceptions of the past. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and image recognition technology was discussed to demonstrate innovative new platforms available to storytellers, historians and media makers.

Case studies covered in the workshop included sharing immigrant stories for a sound art commission for the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York; an interactive storytelling app to commemorate Carnegie Hall’s 125th anniversary in New York and an exhibition at the Barbican for the Royal Shakespeare Company bringing theatrical props to life in London.

During a practical exercise, workshop participants got the opportunity to curate their own mini exhibitions. Each participant chose an object that they were carrying with them, e.g. their watch, a photo, jewellery, and then used the Mayfly Sound App to record its story. Mayfly Sound Stickers, mounted on exhibition labels, were then used to display the objects, allowing people to trigger the stories with image recognition.  

- Barney Heywood