Jury’s Decision:

“First place is awared to Outhouse, from Brian Cohen and his team from TRAX.  Using an outhouse to serve as a semi-public video confessional booth, this project redefines society’s last bastion of privacy and intimacy. Equipped with four doors in but only one door out, this project is not just a humorous gimmick but it is a serious tool for enhancing the knowledge, development and preservation of community. Combining innovation, creativity, originality, and digital techonology, Outhouse unites yesterday and today in a way that cuts to the heart of the ongoing mission of the Future Places Festival.”

First prize is $3k Euro & a 3-month residency in either Austin or Porto. We’ve also been invited to present the Outhouse at the South by Southwest Festival in March 2010.

This is a big and meaningful win to a lot of hard work. It also sends a direct message to the geographic polar opposite point in the world where this project initiated. Creative new media projects can be functional & fun in community settings & excellent tools for engagement and cultural development. We thank the jury for recognising the deeper resonances of our project and for having the chutzpah to award first prize to a toilet.

We’ve had a priveleged time being here with the Outhouse & all the amazing people we’ve met in Porto.

It was especially great to connect with Costah, a Porto street artist of immeasurable talent, who gave the box it’s gaivota (seagull). He reckons although seagulls fly very far, they don’t fly very well. So he gives them balloons to help lift them. The booth is kinda like the balloons. Check out his website by clicking on his name if you’re curious to see some of his other work.

The piece with the little Brazilian girl looking out from the peekhole was done by local artist Luis Ferreira.

We’re trying to find a way to get this bloody box to Barcelona via truck or gaivota. I’ll be attending the 17th Annual Encatc Conference from the 21-23 October. Fingers crossed the Outhouse will make an appearance.

xB.

OUTHOUSE | EUROPE is shaping up to blow away our expectations due to all the amazing people we’ve been meeting in this stunning labyrinth of a city.

We’ve started construction on our latest storycatching box here at the school of fine arts in Porto. David, the master builder, is blissin out over every handmade hinge on every door we pass on the way to a coffee. He is in the shadows of master artisans and if this were a different time he’d be one of them, sculpting the stone & wood in shapes that exhausting for me to even consider trying to make. Together we marvel at the little white shiney cobblestones and how much sweat must’ve went into the millions of them that line the streets of the city.

There are so much more to say but it’s time to get back to building. Below are some pictures from the past few days of construction of Outhouse v3.

The opening of our exhibition is 15 October @ 6PM

Outhouse | Portugal Team

Designer:  Brian Cohen

Social Researchers: Tara Prowse + Mandy Field

Master Builder:  David Whitchurch

Software Designer:  Samuel Van Ransbeeck

Live Musicians:  Jorge Costa & Cecilia Peçanha

Visual Artists:  Costah, Luis Ferreira, Filipa Cruz, Maria

*Extra special thanks goes out to Outback Theatre for Young People for supporting this project.

Well, Outhouse MkII has had an interesting life so far. As you can tell from our previous posts the older version looked like a toilet spaceship from the 70s. We decided to trim down & streamline the design with David Whitchurch, a master carpenter from the outback town of Ivanhoe.

We rebuilt a proud new version shown in these pictures in 36 hours & made our way down to show it off at the Regenerating Communities Conference in Melbourne. Unfortunately after putting the finishing touches on the inside of the booth the Mac Mini decided to crash, which apparently is very unusual. We went to those Mac genius dudes in the city who wanted to keep it for a few days in the repair room & spa. So it missed the conference. Sad because it would’ve been perfect.

BUT it was booked to appear at the Lake Mungo Festival in just a few days, so back onto the trailer with a new Mac Mini and off to the bush we went! In Ivanhoe David strapped down our precious cargo for the serious dirt roads en route to Mungo. The Outhouse made a big splash with everyone there. It was slated to operate for two one-hour blocks amidst a very busy festival schedule. To our surprise and perhaps yours, there was a queue across the site lined with young (& older) people wanting to get inside and answer the questions on the walls inside. There was an equally large crowd huddled 10 meters away around the projection screen waiting to see who would go broadcast once inside. There was an eruption of excitement when a person would appear on the screen. And frustrated murmurs when others chose to record privately. It was split down the middle between broadcast & private storytelling.

We cut a quick short film of 3 participants who were across all ages and we projected it at the final festival celebration. It went over really well. This project will still be finding its feet as we adapt it to be responsive to different audiences and events. The organisers and other partners recognised its relevance not only as a engaging & entertaining public activity but it showed its power as a participatory research tool to gather feedback and data. The insights & testimonies were valuable for many outlets and performed by people who may otherwise pass up a written survey with boxes to tick.

Unfortunately Outhouse v2 came to a spectacular end on the road back through the desert. The wind was relentless and the main strap split sending it soaring in slow motion off the back of the trailer and skidding down the track. We were too exhausted to get upset. At least it was on the way home instead of on the way there. We packed the pieces into the back and brought it back to David the carpenter who smiled and said, “It’s time to make v3!”

In a few weeks the funkiest Outhouse will debut at the Future Places Festival in Portugal. It promises to be that much more. Can’t wait.

xB>

Digital Media & Local Cultures

Porto, Portugal

13-17 October 2009

The FUTURE PLACES Festival is an international competition celebrating digital media work. FUTURE PLACES explores the potential of Digital Media when applied to specific cultural and social environments.

The festival features exhibitions, conferences, workshops, concerts, performances and parties. We are interested in creative and new languages for interactive and media expression, and their impact on local cultures, society and public space.

We want to reach a generation of creators who are breaking conventions. We are addressing this call to those who are blurring the lines not only between disciplines, but also between the real and the virtual and between the commercial, the artistic, and the academic arenas. Mainly, we want to explore the impact of new technologies in “real life”. How can new technology build local communities, create new identities, new narratives, and new forms of public interaction?

As we build the prototype for the Outhouse Storycatcher we’ll be posting photos & videos here.