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Designing Better Festivals 07.12.2011
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“To @byleaveswelive…” AmbITion organisation Scottish Poetry Library & other Edinburgh literary organisations receive mystery sculptures
By Dayle Sheward, from Dayle.me
It started suddenly. Without warning.
Last spring, Julie Johnstone, a librarian at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, was wandering through a reading room when she saw, sitting alone on a random table, a little tree.
It was made of twisted paper and was mounted on a book.
Gorgeously crafted, it came with a gold-leafed eggshell broken in two, each half filled with little strips of paper with phrases on them. When reassembled properly, the strips became a poem about birds, “A Trace of Wings” by Edwin Morgan.
What was this?
Chris Scott/flickr“This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas…” said a note, addressed to the Library by its twitter name “@ByLeavesWeLive”. There was no artist signature, no one to thank. The staff, totally nonplussed, asked on their blog if anybody knew who made it. They described the gift as a “poetree” and waited. Nobody claimed authorship.
Then, it happened again
This time, a coffin, topped by a large gramophone showed up suddenly at The National Library of Scotland. The scene was carved from a book, a mystery novel by Ian Rankin, one of Britain’s bestselling crime writers. It seemed like a visual pun, because the book’s title was Exit Music.
Chris Scott/flickrOnce again, a note said, “A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas…(& against their exit).”
Next came a movie theater, one of Edinburgh’s local art film houses. It got, out of nowhere, a book carved so that a bunch of warriors seemed to be leaping (or in some cases galloping) off a movie screen straight into a startled audience. One of the audience members, if you looked closely, was wearing a tiny photo of the face of mystery writer Ian Rankin. The mystery deepened.
Chris Scott/flickrChris Scott/flickrWas this Rankin’s doing? His Scottish detective character, named Rebus, has been adapted for television. Perhaps the TV people were trying to gin up some publicity? A new form of viral marketing, maybe? No, said Rankin. He told the Edinburgh papers he had no idea who made these little books and he had nothing to do with it.
Next (and by now we’ve moved from spring into summer) somebody found a little dragon peeking out of an egg in a windowsill at The Scottish Storytelling Centre. This dragon was carved, once again, from an Ian Rankin mystery and came with the same anonymous tag:
A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas… Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story…
Chris Scott/flickrThen, the pace quickened. On a single day in August, two new sculptures showed up at the Edinburgh International Book festival, one at the Bookshop, the other at something called the UNESCO Edinburgh City of Literature. Whoever brought them in, got out unnoticed.
Chris Scott/flickrChris Scott/flickrBy this fall, these mysterious sculptures had become a hot story. Reporters checked the newest teacup and cupcake, then the little fellow hiding in a forest for some sign of authorship, and once again found a connection to mystery writer Ian Rankin. The hiding man was nestled in a book Rankin had publicly admired.
Mr. Rankin came to the festival, checked out the new sculpture. Here he is, trying to look innocent. The thing is: he probably is innocent.
Chris Scott/flickrBecause within a week or two, another sculpture, this one a large magnifying glass, something Sherlock Holmes might have used but in paper form, appeared at the Central Lending Library. It was balanced precariously on a book.
Chris Scott/flickrThis sculpture had no known connection to Mr. Rankin, but it did quote from poet Edward Morgan — whose poem inspired the first sculpture. Hmmm. First Morgan, then Rankin, then Morgan again — who is the real perpetrator, asked the BBC, Scotland TV, The Guardian. And what is he? She? They? trying to tell us? Everyone wanted to know.
Just as the news cycle was about to hit boil, The Edinburgh Evening News announced it had cracked the case. It turns out, they said, their own former music librarian, a Mr. Garry Gale, had figured it out. Mr. Gale said when he saw the sculptures he realized they looked exactly like a paper sculpture he had bought a year or so earlier from a certain artist that he didn’t name, but the styles were so unerringly similar it had to be the same artist who was dropping these little gifts on major cultural centers in Edinburgh.
Who Did It?
So, OK! Now we find out who did it.
Well, this is where my reporting either falls short or I bump into the respectful quiet that is Edinburgh culture. Instead of having Mr. Gale immediately identify the perpetrator, the Evening News decided to take a poll: Do you really want to know, it asked its readers, who made these gorgeous teacups and dragons and magnifying glasses, or would you rather honor the artist, and let him/her remain anonymous?
Can you even imagine such a thing in America? Can you imagine People magazine or the New York Daily News saying “Shall we protect this shy fellow’s privacy?” Shall we honor his modesty?
The readers wrote in. And according to Central Station, a Scottish website, “the general view is that We Don’t Want To Know.” Presumably a significant number of respondents said they would rather not learn the identity of the sculptor and it would be best if those who know just not tell.
Has the paper published the perpetrator’s name?
It hasn’t. At least, I can’t find any mention on their site. I found possible culprits mentioned, but no authoritative story. Several pages, it seems, have been un-cached and can’t be read. Unbelievably (to me) that’s how the story ends.
[thanks npr.org]By Dayle Sheward, from Dayle.me
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Case Study in Innovation: Edinburgh International Book Festival
Following its initiation at Culture Hack Scotland, this case study video maps the development of a hack into a fully operational mobile site launched by Edinburgh International Book Festival this summer.
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Digital Tools for Fundraising – 18 November
A recent AmbITion Scotland audience
AmbITion Scotland’s next event will be a full day of talks and workshops. It’s now open for registration.
With more than 80% of the UK population now online* and more people every day using the web, either via a PC, tablet or smartphone to shop, access information and access services online, most not for profit cultural organisations understand the importance of taking their first steps in digital fundraising.
But, if budget and human resources are limited, if you haven’t made your first foray into individual giving yet or you feel a bit bewildered by the vast array of digital channels, what’s the best way to get started? AmbITion Scotland’s next webinar features two speakers who are leaders in the field of digital fundraising.
- Sarah Gee, of Indigo Ltd., will show how crowdfunding tools can assist in fundraising by engaging audiences, visitors and donors in a completely new way, and announce a new Scottish crowdfunding site designed specifically for the cultural and creative sectors.
- Rachel Beer, of Beautiful World, will will help you to identify and unleash the untapped fundraising potential your organisation already has through its website and marketing activities giving you the tools to integrate fundraising in a way that makes the most of the opportunities you have in your network.
This is a joint AmbITIon Scotland and Arts & Business Scotland event with support from the Glasgow School of Art. It offers arts organisations and artists an unrivalled opportunity to hear how the power of new digital tools can be harnessed by arts organisations and artists to take forward their creative ambition. In addition to the morning seminar sessions the day includes a networking lunch and small group workshops in the afternoon.
Webinar attendees who are ready to get their hands dirty and try out the new new tools and techniques for themselves can register to stay for the afternoon workshop sessions. These are small-group intensive sessions so please book early to assure your place.
We will be webcasting the morning sessions so if you can’t make it Glasgow you can take part from your desk. Register here to secure your place.
This AmbITIon Scotland learning event is free to attend. However, a £25 deposit is requested to hold a space in the small group workshop. A £10 catering charge will be applied for those delegates who would like to attend the networking lunch. Please be aware that you’ll need to register separately for each part of the day.
*Source ITU. Figures are for 2010.
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Live & Kicking: live events from Roundhouse live online
Live events online – particularly live cultural events – are becoming increasingly popular with audiences around the world, and the Roundhouse is at the forefront of this trend. Conor Roche shares his experiences in Arts Professional
Broadcasters, film-makers, artists and musicians are all becoming more aware of the potential of live events online to unite audiences from across the globe through a common interest at a single moment in time. Recent examples include the Guardian’s broadcast of ‘Turn of the Screw’ from Glyndebourne, YouTube’s coverage of the Coachella music festival and Burberry’s online broadcast of their London Fashion Week show. Live event broadcasting online is nothing new, but events that exist exclusively for audiences online are also becoming increasingly popular. Take the example of Kevin Macdonald’s latest documentary ‘Life in a Day’ which was premiered via YouTube, or Radiohead’s sole recorded performance of their recent album ‘King of Limbs’ via the BBC.
Screen captures from the Roundhouse Blackbox series
Screen captures from the Roundhouse Blackbox series
Sitting back and passively enjoying an event online isn’t ground breaking. But the web is not a passive medium – it’s interactive, it’s social. Sharing experiences with friends and strangers alike is important: social norms remain true regardless of the medium and people love sharing experiences, together. Live events online provide opportunities for people to come together and share an experience as they would do during a live event in a venue.
Since January 2010 the Roundhouse has produced a series of events, entitled Blackbox, which are broadcast live from the Roundhouse exclusively to online audiences. These shows are edited, recorded, performed and broadcast live, with an archive version made available on demand following the show. There is no audience at the Roundhouse: Blackbox events can only be viewed online. The freedom provided by the lack of a physical audience in the performance space provides the directors of Blackbox, Jamie Roberts and Will Hanke, with an opportunity to explore how the Roundhouse can bring live performance to audiences in ways not experienced previously, while using innovative production techniques and technologies that are not typical of a live broadcast. The series has included a broadcast filmed entirely using thermal imaging cameras and a broadcast using real-time live image mapping via hacked Microsoft Kinect Sensors.
For the first Blackbox series, the Roundhouse partnered with MySpace and StreamUK. Each broadcast was hosted on MySpace, with StreamUK providing the streaming technology, allowing the directors and the Roundhouse to concentrate on filming and producing the live event. The most recent session with the band British Sea Power was viewed live by over 58,000 with an average viewing time of over 8 minutes. The event has just been nominated for Best Event at this year’s BT Digital Music Awards.
The success of Blackbox follows many years of investment by the Roundhouse in its broadcast production facilities. Broadcasting is not the natural domain for a performing arts venue and making a film is hugely challenging. Making a live film of a live performance while relying on technology for production and distribution presents an even tougher set of challenges. In addition, the same consideration and attention to detail required for producing a live event for a physically present audience is required for producing a live event for a live audience online. For example, in the build-up to each Blackbox event we provided audiences with live visuals and a live DJ set (Matt Horne was DJ for British Sea Power); audiences were invited to send in requests to the DJ via Twitter; we provided social media integration to encourage audiences to engage with one another; and we requested feedback from the audience before and after each event.
Considering the complexities of producing such an event there are benefits that have significant potential for cultural organisations. The most obvious benefit is reach and access. An audience of 58,000 is almost 20 times the physical capacity of the Roundhouse. Data suggests that almost as many people experienced a Blackbox event last year as physically came to the Roundhouse to see a show. If the remit of Arts Council England is ‘to get great art to everyone’, then producing engaging live cultural events for audiences online can go some way to realising that ambition.
The second significant potential benefit for cultural organisations is the opportunity for generating revenue from live events online. At a time when all cultural organisations are exploring additional financial means to sustain their activities, perhaps these sorts of online activities have the potential to open up new business models. Advertising revenue has been sustaining the commercial broadcasting industry for decades. If users, viewers, listeners and lovers of art cannot be convinced to part with their pound online, there should be no shame in exploring the potential of using advertising revenue for the purpose of sustaining cultural actives online.
But generating revenue will not be easy, and although it is common knowledge that the capacity of a venue and expected ticket sales for a production is a prime determining factor for calculating the budget of a production in a venue, there is no such formula for online productions. With that in mind, collaborations between the commercial media industry and cultural sector must be encouraged to develop a framework that demystifies the revenue-generating potential for live events online.
Live cultural events online do not have the potential to replace or even match the potency of a live event experienced in a venue. However, they do provide credible and beneficial alternatives for audiences and cultural organisations. They also provide opportunities for those organisations to make best use of their production experience and creativity, while accessing a much greater audience beyond the bricks and mortar of a venue.
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