Something Good (Measures of Us) is an outdoor arts, technology and conversation project
Measures of Us took place for one week in November/December 2016. We invited Birmingham residents to think about how they were feeling at the end of the year and find out how people from different parts of the city were feeling too. We asked a question a day for five days, Monday to Friday. The daily results were displayed in the form of illuminated artworks, inspired by cricket scoreboards, in 6 very different neighbourhoods before coming together to form Measures of Us, a beautiful illuminated art installation in Cathedral Square, telling the whole city story. Audiences were invited to share their interpretations of the similarities and differences in responses from the 6 neighbourhoods.
How did it work?
From 28th November to 2nd December 2016, 24 voting boxes were hosted by local shops, businesses and community venues across the 6 areas: Boldmere, Hodge Hill, Springfield/Hall Green, Rubery, Handsworth and Colmore Row/City Centre. Each box displayed the question of the day, which could be answered by pressing one of three coloured buttons. The question changed daily, for five days.
The results in each neighbourhood were displayed from dusk onwards, on large artist designed display boards, updated by our local facilitators – residents could use their phone flash or torch to light up how people in their neighbourhood were feeling that day.
On Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December, all 6 display boards came together in Cathedral Square to form a beautiful outdoor illuminated artwork by Redhawk Logistica. Participants and audiences exchanged ideas about the responses from the different parts of the city, proposed new questions for future conversations and shared some delicious food offered by our special guests, Langar Aid (by Khalsa Aid).
Over 7,000 votes were cast in response to the week’s questions. The individual display boards were seen by an estimated 20,000 people across the 6 locations and the final Measures of Us art installation in Cathedral Square by 10,000 over the course of the weekend.
In partnership with Lisa Koeman of UCL, Birmingham Cathedral and Rob Hewitt aka Redhawk Logistica ‘measures of us’ was a project made accessible to faith and non-faith communities of all ages, socio groups and faced head on the challenges we are all dealing with in today’s society.
This project was funded by Arts Council England and The Jerusalem Trust.
For more information, please visit the sister site here, Twitter or Facebook.
