World Kiosk in the GDIF is necessary for bettering one's understanding of community

Review that details why you should visit the GDIF's World Kiosk and how it will actively immerse you into the community

World Kiosk in the GDIF is necessary for bettering one's understanding of community

World Kiosk is a part of the Greenwich Docklands International, which is London’s leading festival of free outdoor theatre and performing arts.  This exhibition is created by Variable Matter, which is an artist-led collective established in 2020 that is led by award-winning artist David Shearing. They work across design, art, intervention and performance. Their aim is to bring about change: environmental, political and social through high-quality and rigorous artistic projects.

I perceived the decision for this exhibition to be situated in Green Street, Newham to be a wonderful to observe as I saw the contrast of the bustling nature of East London with its food markets and independent shops in contrast with the World Kiosk that felt like a hub where you gain insight into the people who live and work within Newham but also other parts of the UK.

As I entered the exhibition, I was met with a lovely Host, people who are from the local community in Newham, that told me about how the installation worked. I was told I can be free to sit anywhere i would like to, be given a menu that consisted of a variety of teas and be provided with headphones that would be playing an audio of a variety of people telling their life journeys and what makes who they are. When I sit down, I begin to immerse myself in this new environment of Newham which differed to the environment of Croydon that I’m more acclimatized to. Drinking the Liquorice Root Tea was lovely and helped me to calm down after having been through the bustling London Underground and allowed me to be comfortable as I would listen to the stories of those in the community.

When I put my headphones,on, I was surprised to hear and see how the stories weren’t long monologues of one person at a time detailing their story but instead it was excerpts, little dashes of each person’s story, flowing from one account to another. This format of the storytelling allowed me to never feel that it was becoming tedious and kept me constantly engaged as I would hear an extract from one person’s story detailing how they worked in the Olympics at the security guard and the strong emotion of togetherness he felt then transitioning to an extract of another person’s story of a more aged voice detailing how they’ve travelled around the world and how that gives them insight of how necessary, important it is to live in a diversified space of a plethora of different cultures as it is integral to growing as a person as you learn from others. The interesting thing is overall the voices are never named in the audio so if you decide that is how you want to solely absorb the information about the individuals in the community, it hinders you’re ability to make assumptions or have presumptions which helps one to engage well with the story //

Reading the large print newspaper, completed the atmosphere of being separated from the digital word if one chooses to as you are able to read the stories of those who have contributed to the audio but also see the feedback and drawings provided from the inaugural tour of the installation. One nice quote that I liked was ‘We are all travellers in one way or another’, the account detailed a message of the autonomy one has in their life journey and nice pieces of advice of kindness to yoursefl and the valuing of your loved ones. This is one of many sincere pieces of advice and insights you gain of the people that live amongst you. it furthers fulfills the intimate feeling of how one learns more about someone else and their values as you are temporarily immersed in this sanctuary of a community. Possibly, Shearing wanted one to see what our community as a whole is capable of.

If you’re worried about how to get access to information about the event or online version of the audio description because you’re worried you might lose the newspaper and miss out on being able to further reflect over the stories you have read. Don’t worry! Variable Matter has come up with a solution for that as it has implemented a QR code on each table within the installation. It provided the necessary convenience that I crave when I go to events as someone who is very capable of easily losing access to links and pieces of paper.  Additionally, the QR code also provides links to a BSL video and audio description which further achieves the goal of accessibility outlined in the large print newspaper as Shearing says that the company was inspired by the BSL user Hosts which further gives the impression that the installation listen to the wants of the community that the Hosts represent.

At the end of my experience, I was provided with a postcard sized feedback form which asked questions nudging me to reflect on my own aspirations, my identity and my own understanding and definition of what is community. This was in contrast to an online feedback form of how i found the experience overall and i would see my answers in comparison to the average. I wasn’t sure if that was to provoke me to see how I was overall positive and appreciative of the experience or if I just have the tendency to view things in a more positive lense in terms of its impact or was it that I was just satisfied with how immersive and inclusive the installation is. overall, as you can see by reding this review, even from the feedback form it is causes you to review as a person and rather than just passively listen to other people’s stories you have the  opportunity to engage in your own personal thoughts on important themes of diversity, culture and immigration within society.

Thus, it is extremely fair to say that this is a wonderful event to attend and I would recommend anyone from anywhere to be open to this experience as it not only causes you to become more one with yourself but also alows you to reflect on your values and beliefs in terms of what is community. This is essential as we’ve seen recent challenges to that and it matters more than now to re-evaluate what matters to you and understand and appreciate what matters to those around you whether you know them or not.

This is a user generated post from our wider Voice community and was not edited by the Voice team. We would love to hear your views too! Sign up for an account and make your Voice heard!

Author

Mabinty Kamara

Mabinty Kamara

Fanatic of a diverse range of literature, tv and film BUT ALSO a advocate for CURIOSITY.

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