This exhibition is the collaborative thesis project of  Clem Turner (senior, Performing Arts Technology) and Darian Razdar (senior, Social Theory & Practice). It will invite visitors into the world city of Paris, and to one of its most singular neighborhoods, Belleville, in particular. This is an interactive research exhibition that serves several purposes: public contribution to the production of knowledge begun in Darian Razdarâs thesis, exposition of the life-worlds of Belleville to a public who may not have knowledge of this side of Paris, and building the collaboratorsâ experience in gallery-related work. The gallery will include a copy of Darian Razdarâs thesis, interactive maps of Belleville and Paris made out of acrylic, video projection, photography, interactive media on a tablet, and print material retrieved during field work in Paris in 2017. Visitors will be able to engage with the exhibition via: maps by pressing buttons to emit recorded ambient sound from the field of study & interviews from residents of Belleville, drawing/writing on postcard-sized photos, as well as public workshops and discussions.
From Clem ~
When Darian came to me with a collection of audio, video, and print media and his concept for his thesis, it immediately made sense to me that we would collaborate. He and I have worked together in the past on various things: Eco Forum (a student-led forum on the environment), the Residential College Garden, and even an intramural soccer team. Â I spend most of my time wrapped up in the world of creative audio production, with a focus in electronic pop music, and my program has expanded my interests to include installation design and programming with Arduino and Max. After listening to interviews and found sound and reading Darianâs thesis, my head was full of ideas. My work in this installation culminates in the form of interactive maps of both Belleville and Paris laser-cut into acrylic and emphasized by an LED frame. Maps play an important role in defining geographical, cultural, and social boundaries: an important element of Darianâs thesis. Participants of the gallery can listen to bits from interviews of Bellevillians, ambient sound of the Parisian cityscape, and sections from Darianâs thesis by pressing on various buttons located on the maps. Â This project represents my growth as an installation designer and programmer, and I hope you enjoy it.
From Darian ~
The project that Clem and I are collaborating on came out of conversations that we had in the summer of 2017. I had just returned from six months abroad in Parisâduring which time I lived in Belleville and did a bit of fieldwork in the neighborhood. Almost from the beginning of the time in my new neighborhood, I was intrigued by the dynamics going on there. I saw people sharing public space unlike other places in the cityâespecially between a huge diversity of classes and ethnicities. There was also a strong leftist political presence, lots of street art, and also the creeping air of gentrification. Belleville was I spent most of my time, and when I got back to Ann Arbor in July I began telling Clem about all of my experiences. Additionally, I told Clem about the research I did of Belleville, and some preliminary plans I had about organizing a gallery around my findings. Clem, as a student of Performing Arts Tech, mentioned that he could give me some help with sound and installations. We got conspiring. . . and ended up deciding that a collaborative, interactive research exhibit was the way to go. We wanted to combine our talents to produce an innovative and interdisciplinary engagement with the subject of urbanism and the field of arts and curation. This project, we hope, draws people into Belleville and produces knowledge to complement our theses.
A couple years ago I started going to a lot of modern and contemporary art exhibitions. When I went to Europe, I wanted to go see everything: photography, installations, sculpture, design, you name it. I once went to an exhibition at a gallery a friend worked at; the gallery put work a researcher had done about South Yemeni arts and politics. This show laid out the research materail for all to see, and implicated visitors in the process as well. I had also gone to a student pop-up gallery on urbanism at LâEcole des Beaux Arts, where I saw some interactive pieces that engaged visitors in content from fieldwork. I took these experiences as inspiration for curating a research exhibition with Clemâwe both wanted to see how this process would create new insights for ourselves, our fields, and the gallery visitors. So, in the gallery youâll come across different media to interact with: maps of Paris and Belleville, video projection, and print media (photos and ephemera taken from the field). We are also planning different discussions and workshops to further engage our audience with the material. The gist is that by putting primary evidence in contact with people in the context of an exhibition like this, we will create connections and build understandings that would otherwise remain dormant.
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To us, this experience is educational at its core, as it represents our senior thesis projects. Darian is using this exhibition to extend the process of knowledge creation to a larger public, and learn about exhibition construction and curation. Clemâs portion of the project focuses on designing, configuring, and installing interactive technological aparati with which gallery visitors may interact. Additionally, this exhibition will represent an opportunity for a public educational experience. The organizers will hold 4 events in the gallery open to the public on May 4th, 11th, 18th, and 24th (contact Darian and Clem at [email protected] and [email protected] for more information!). These events will allow both structured (e.g. artist talks and discussion) and unstructured (e.g. opening reception and conversation) ways for visitors to engage with the exhibition. Darian will lead a discussion on neighborhood activism & translocal solidarity, and Clem will host a workshop on designing and creating interactive technologies.













