PORTABLE MEMORY CHEST
Interactive artwork designed to help older people trigger memories
We were commissioned by Fermywoods Contemporary Arts to create a portable artwork that would help older people living in Corby to trigger memories.
Over the course of nine months we visited heritage centres, archives and sites of assisted living and extra care in Corby, producing a digital artwork which reflects the experience of the elderly community.
The interactive sculpture takes the shape of a colourful wheeled box, containing drawers of archival facsimiles which can be handled and play clips from recorded interviews when a draw is placed on the top. This can be taken into the homes of elderly people and used to prompt reflections and conversations between befriending volunteers and isolated residents. The Corby Memory Chest is an interactive record of stories told by local people.
Listen below as BBC Northampton’s Martin Borley speaks to residents at Swan Gardens, Corby, as they start unpacking memories with a tactile work of art for the elderly people of Corby
Client
Funding and Support
Arts Council England, Northamptonshire Community Foundation, Made in Corby and Garfield Weston
Dates
March 2018 - ongoing
Collaborators
Aron Duckworth - fabrication
Pete Bennett - tech support
Special Thanks
Staff and volunteers at Royal Voluntary Service, Swan Gardens, Billy Dalziel and Corby Borough Council’s Heritage team, Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands and all the interviewees who contributed their time, memories and insight.
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