Making Worlds with Others

A collaboration with our local communities, we investigated media's role in shaping practices, fostering critical public engagement and knowledge exchange.

Community Engagement and Social Design
Facilitation, Curation, Research and Publishing

How do we "make worlds" together? : A publication exploring socially engaged arts practices through experiences of collaborating with local communities.




COLLABORATION: Royal College of Art SoC and Headway with immense support from artist and educator, Jasmin Bhanji.

MY ROLE: Editor and Collage Team Facilitator

WHAT WE DID: We investigated how media impacts collaborative practices in social contexts, collaborating with local communities to analyze and question the creation, while fostering critical public engagement and knowledge exchange.

METHODS WE USED: Research, Dialogue, Workshops



SO, WHAT GOES INTO DEVELOPING A GOOD WORKSHOP?

We, a group of Visual Communicators, Animators, Digital Directors and Information Experience Designers, collaborated on this project with Headway, a brain injury association that supports people with brain injuries, their families and carers.

To prepare, we hosted a workshop with students at the Arts & Media School in Islington. This experience helped us:

– Navigate unfamiliar demographics
– Plan accessible workshops
– Develop backup plans and adapt to unexpected problems
– Create an engaging atmosphere for collaboration


Collective drawing exercise with students at A&M School


We identified these key insights:

– Engaging in a hands-on activities promotes better dialogue.
– Simple activities with tangible takeaways work best.
– Be an active participant!
– Always have a backup plan.

We then divided into three groups to offer a variety of workshop activities: Collage Making, Water Marbling and Digital Interaction. The activities were designed to complement each other and provide something for everyone.


Invitation for the workshop. Designed by Jinyu, Yuanxin and Ying
WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY – A&M SCHOOL + HEADWAY:

We hosted over 15 guests from Headway on a beautiful sunny day. The room was adorned with vibrant, colorful graphics and we set up a Show-and-Tell wall to showcase everyone’s creations. With snacks and music adding to the lively atmosphere, the event was a success.

Participants left with their wonderful creations in hand, adding a personal touch to a memorable day. We had wonderful interactions with each participant as we all took turns participating in the workshops. A documentary-style film, shot by team member Xiaochen Hou, captured the preparation leading up to the final workshop day and featured feedback from our guests. The video remains private for ethical reasons.


Participants engaging at the Collage Making station
A participant creates a collage
A student explores the Digital Interactive setup at the Interaction station
A beautiful conversation unfolds as participants and students create their collages together


HOW DID WE “MAKE WORLDS” TOGETHER?

Scroll through selected pages of this publication, which explores socially engaged arts practices through collaborations with local communities. It offers insights into how our guests responded to the workshop and how we adapted to last-minute changes. I was part of the small team that helped create and edit this.


** For ethical reasons, the full publication cannot be shared, as it contains sensitive information.**


 



School of Communication Project Team and Royal College of Art © 2024
Photography by Yuting Cai, Xiaochen Hou, Jiyoung Lee, Wanying Sun, Yuanyuan Wang, Binying Zhang and Vidushi Arya