project listing

Open Shutters: A Portable StoryBooth for New Orleans

Part of a collaboration and grant project with NYU's Interactive Telecommunications program and Xavier University in New Orleans. Inspired by co-collaborator Ruth Sergel and her previous work with "Voices of 911", we built a portable and easy to setup private space in which to record stories. In conjunction with Xavier University's art program, a small group of us designed this booth primarily of found objects and salvaged building supplies of post-Katrina homes. Two non-profit organizations, "Habitat Re-Store" and "Green Project", salvage old and historical buildings throughout New Orleans in hopes of reducing waste and saving historically hard-to-find supplies.

This project took three days, and the help of a variety of individuals in no particular order: Ruth Sergel, Roy Vanegas, Sonia Nelson, Pars Marash, Patricia Oakim, and Yonatan Kelib. It consists of multiple modular pieces, which can be assembled and disassembled quickly, making for a portable and versatile space in which to record and document the memories and stories of NOLA citizens.

Additionally, our trip to New Orleans was an effort to educate and help integrate participatory-media concepts into various institutions and non-profit organizations. This project, in its entirety, was made possible through the Nathan Cummings Foundation in New York.

tags: booth community participatory portable private video