Bring Your Own Beamer

The Bring Your Own Beamer exhibition was a project co-designed between Dr. Allister Gall, our first-year BA (Hons) Media Arts students, and myself. The initiative aimed to create an engaging open exhibition, that invited participation from a diverse range of individuals including secondary school students, undergraduate and postgraduate students, PhD candidates, academic staff and local artists.

The project’s foundation was a collaborative exploration of how exhibitions could be participatory and community-engaged. Together with the students, we generated the concept, emphasizing the added value of collective creation. This approach not only fostered creativity but also allowed us to draw on established ideas, such as the Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) concept originated by Rafaël Rozendaal. By referencing this pre-existing model, we underscored how creative practice can evolve when viewed through a collaborative and commons-based lens. This was a topic of significant discussion among the students, enriching our collective understanding of contemporary art practices.

Collaboration in Design

The collaborative nature of the project began with an inclusive co-design process. The activities we undertook with the students were crafted to span the various stages of the exhibition process, ensuring a balanced focus on essential components including – brainstorming ideas around participatory exhibition practices and community engagement; developing the Call for Participation that was inclusive and encouraged contributions from a diverse audience; and working on creating cohesive visuals that reflected the project’s collaborative spirit and drew connections to existing artistic concepts.

As we neared the date of the event, the group focussed on: identifying a suitable venue (with site visits to various locations), considering accessibility and engagement opportunities for both participants and visitors; preparing all necessary equipment to facilitate a seamless exhibition experience, allowing participants to present their work effectively; and coordinating logistics for the exhibition night, ensuring a supportive environment for participants and a dynamic experience for attendees.

Artworks

During the exhibition, a diverse array of creative works was showcased, reflecting the collaborative spirit of the project. Among them were interactive works (such as the little sketch I produced in Processing, where a computer was set up for attendees to doodle and create their own visuals (see the animation at the top of the page). The exhibition also featured captivating films, installations such as video mapped pieces that transformed walls, ceilings, and even mannequins into dynamic canvases. Visitors could immerse themselves in a VR experience, while other works drew inspiration from a media archaeological investigation of pre-cinema optical toys. Additionally, several video pieces incorporated green screen techniques and innovative post-production, highlighting the rich interplay between technology and artistic expression. This blend of contributions illustrated the project’s commitment to participatory and community-engaged art.

What stood out during this project was the extraordinary creativity exhibited by participants and the enthusiasm of the audience. The positive reception underscored the value of community engagement in the arts, highlighting how diverse perspectives can come together to create something unique.