Passers by become participants on the South Bank
Arlete Castelo and Melissa Mongiat students of the Creative Practice for Narrative Environments MA at Central St Martins, UAL, have created an exciting interactive sound installation that is changing the atmosphere of Hungerford Terrace and keeping the spirit of 'Education at the Royal Festival Hall' alive while it is closed for refurbishment.
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Making use of the hoardings around the Royal Festival Hall's (RFH) building site, 'Gamelan Playtime' invites participation from commuters and visitors in an unexpected moment of collaboration and creativity. The invitingly tactile surface of the installation attracts the hands of pedestrians in Hungerford Terrace: their movements trigger sensors, which release recordings of a Gamelan workshop held in a local Lambeth primary school. The passers-by are surprised to hear the sounds of hear traditional Indonesian instruments together with schoolchildren's voices mixed together in a startling musical collage.
This installation is the first of several manifestations of Education at the Royal Festival Hall's 'Keeping in touch' policy. While the Royal Festival Hall remains closed for refurbishment, the education programme of the RFH will continue to run throughout this period.
Arlete and Melissa were thrilled to be offered the chance to create an installation in such a busy location for the RFH, a place that plays such an important part in the lives of many Londoners. "We hope that the music of the gamelan fills the space between the commuters on Hungerford Terrace on their daily journeys, reminding them of the fun times offered by the RFH" says Melissa. Arlete adds that she wants to "disrupt their routines with an unexpected element of fantasy and illusion." With hundreds of commuters passing through the passage at the busiest times, plenty of people are enjoying 'Gamelan Playtime' everyday!
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Gamelan Playtime is featured in:
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