Wayfarer v2
After unsuccessful attempts to fund a Wayfarer 1 in Melbourne, the artists (Kate Richards and Martyn Coutts partnered with Education at the Arts Centre Melbourne in 2009, with ideas of using the theatres, foyers and office spaces and even the immediate outdoor courtyard spaces.
The artists decided to shift the delivery platform by using the web as an interface rather than a local area network. Research and development into instantaneous video delivery online took us to qik, ustream and livestream as we imagined the 3G network carrying the action through mobile devices.
Also in this new version the role of audience and avatar became merged and became the agent.
In addition, the burgeoning social media take-up became a reference point for the look and feel of the interface. We partnered with Melbourne based web developers and designers Evolution 7 to build this new system.
Building on the psychogeographic lead from Version 1, this new version used the CBD of Melbourne as its new grid. Sectioning off the CBD into 6 zones (Economic, Cultural, Retail, Sport, Green and Port), each team was invited to create an Action within a zone, this action would be related to the zone it was in and a video created at the site.
Once the video was uploaded to Vimeo and tagged to a location on a map then the video would be rated and discussed amongst other teams and citizens who signed up to comment.
Wayfarer 2 (Urban Agents) dealt with the city, intervention as an artistic practice and using social media in a positive way. This version asked of its participants to work quickly, work with the site and deal with public space and with the general public.
The web interface became not only a repository for the actions but also was used as marketing, commentary and community building.
Artists/Producers – Kate Richards and Martyn Coutts
Web Developers – Evolution 7
Education at Arts Centre Producer – Dan West
Supported by Inter-Arts Office of the Australia Council and the Arts Centre Melbourne.
