This September, the shadows of passersby will come to life on the streets of Bristol as part of a new commission, Shadowing, which has just won the £30,000 Playable City Award.
Led by New York-based interactive designer Jonathan Chomko and Treviso-based architect/designer Matthew Rosier, a team will spend the summer developing the infra-red technology that will capture the outlines of people’s shadows.
Shadowing was selected from 78 applications received from 29 countries. Judge Tom Uglow said the project was chosen for its “promise to speak to what Playable City is.”
The Playable City Award, initiated and led by Watershed, Bristol and now in its second year, invites artists, designers, architects and creative practitioners to respond to the concept of a ‘Playable City’ – defined as a more social and playful version of a ‘Smart City’.
Chaired by Playable City’s executive producer Clare Reddington, the judging panel were Ben Barker and Sam Hill of PAN Studio, last year’s inaugural winners of the award; Claire Doherty, director of Situations; Dan Hill, executive director of Futures and Best Practice for the Future Cities Catapult; and Tom Uglow, creative director of Google’s Creative Lab, Sydney, Australia.
Speaking about their approach to the Playable City Award, Chomko and Rosier said: “Our goal is to create unexpected interactions between people who share an urban environment, by placing pockets of memory throughout the city that remember those who have passed through, allowing citizens to interact through time.”
Shadowing will be unveiled at the Making the City Playable Conference on 10 and 11 September in Bristol, before touring internationally.
Also on www.a-n.co.uk:
Playable City Award 2014: shortlist announced – April 2014
Winner of £30,000 Playable City Award announced – January 2013
