Guest Speaker: Robyn Taylor, Newcastle University

Designing from Within: Exploring Experience through Participatory Performance

Robyn Taylor, Open Lab, Newcastle University

As a design researcher and musician based at Open Lab, Newcastle University, my work centers upon the practice of designing from within, using participatory performance as a medium to engage members of the public in collaborative, improvisational performance scenarios. Taking part in performances and experiencing music-making and theatrical play alongside the public, my own firsthand, lived understanding of technically mediated collaborative creative interaction is allowed to develop and unfold through shared social experiences. Using examples of participatory performance works created in collaboration with fellow researchers at Open Lab, this presentation explores how creative practice and performance traditions allow artist/researchers to examine public engagement with technologies from a situated perspective alongside participants in the wild.