Megaphonebooth, Lisbon – A Peripatetic Prototyping Design Workshop
Megaphonebooth Lisboa is a coin-operated megaphone to be located in a public space somewhere in Lisboa. To use the megaphone you just have to insert one euro per minute, speak into the attached handset and have your voice instantly amplified and projected into the local soundscape.
A Megaphonebooth presents unexpected opportunities but also raises questions about responsibility, control, and democracy. Who are allowed control of public space and to what price? What citizen expressions and
actions are sanctioned and encouraged by city authorities? In what world would Megaphonebooths be part of the everyday urban infrastructure? What does it mean to buy a megaphone minute? What rights can you actually acquire?
The Megaphonebooth offers a platform from which people could speak their mind, loud and uncensored. Yet, when compared to the loudness, plentitude and persistence of other messages (commercial, cultural and political) that we are exposed to in our everyday lives, the mighty megaphone seems peculiarly powerless. The Megaphonebooth is a
deliberately tragic solution meant to bring focus to an unbalance while feebly attempting to correct it.
Finding a good spot for the Megaphonebooth is essential. The location shouldn’t be too obvious, nor too odd. Not too practical for political polemics, nor too romantic and secluded.
In a peripatetic prototyping and location scouting workshop, various, potential locations for Megaphonebooth Lisboa are tested using a working, full scale prototype. In the course of the workshop, participants will (1) propose, discuss and decide on a handful of Lisboa locations to test (2) bring the megaphonebooth prototype to the locations, (3) carry out various tests, observations and experiments in situ, (4) create photographic, video, and sonic documentation and (4) discuss, analyse and summarize the findings.
The workshop has a twofold goal: (1) to find a location for the future megaphonebooth and (2) explore, see and discuss Lisboa from new and unusual perspectives.
About the artists: Unsworn Industries is an interaction design and innovation studio based in Malmö, Sweden. They have gained an international reputation for their innovative approach to the crafting of social action spaces and mobile, locative projects. The employ telecommunication and personal technology systems and infrastructures, utlising them develop participatory, public works.
Workshop Details: 11-18.00 hrs, FBAUL, Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas-Artes, Sat 14 Nov. 11-17hrs. Cost: €70. Register at info@1um1.info. Advance booking required, as numbers are limited.
