ZEST Collective, commissioned by Southampton Culture Trust, delivered an exciting, large-scale interactive installation at the Southampton Forward Conference 2023.
Over the course of the day, participants were asked, ‘What Do You Feel Is Most Important For Building Southampton’s Cultural Future?’ and selected a coloured block based on the values: ‘Innovation' (Red), 'Ambition' (Orange), 'Collaboration' (Yellow), 'Inclusion' (Green), 'Adaptability' (Blue), and 'Integrity' (Purple).
We filmed the participants throwing the blocks in the air, and, by the magic of live video editing, onto the wall, which grew steadily over the course of the day, representing the collaborative effort needed to build Southampton’s cultural future and the importance of all voices in deciding what that future should be.
For the conference’s evening reception, attendees were invited to carry blocks from the wall across the park to the Solent Spark Building, transposing the entire sculpture in another demonstration of the power of community effort. Attendees playfully created sculptures of their own in the building’s lobby and the final film created over the course of the day was displayed on screen.
With the help of fellow ZEST artists Robin Price and Poppy Ash, I conceived of the installation, hand-crafted the blocks, and delivered the installations and final artwork.
