Transforming online meetings into a public art happening

With numerous physical events canceled and ever-tightening travel restrictions in place, our social interactions have been significantly affected by the ongoing pandemic. Most of us can only meet online, and some may feel a siege of loneliness and boredom. In the Public Art Experiment online workshop organized by the British Council SPARK festival last month, Dr. Jacek Ludwig Scarso introduced a new way for us to connect by co-creating a “Public Art Happening” online.

Public art is a creative practice that engages the public, enabling them to connect with each other. A happening is a performance where multiple actions take place simultaneously.

With our cameras on, Dr. Scarso guided us to sketch each other with various drawing prompts and, in pairs, share our drawings on screen simultaneously. Instead of showing the complete drawing in one go, he suggested we slowly reveal our work bit by bit with movements, juxtaposing two actions on the same visual field. This instantly transformed the online meeting into a spontaneous, collaborative art experience.

Personally I find the one-line drawing task the most rewarding. Before the workshop, I had heard of this drawing practice but never had the courage to try it out myself. This workshop pushed me to finally step out of my comfort zone. It was challenging but fun!

(Top left) Sketching; (Top right) One-line drawing; (Bottom left and right) One-line drawing without looking at the paper

After the workshop, I re-did the drawing prompts with my friend. Grateful that the workshop gave me new art ideas to connect with people.

(Top left) Sketching; (Top right) One-line drawing; (Bottom left) One-line drawing without looking at the paper

As we probably need to wait for another year or two before the pandemic ends, Dr. Scarso’s idea of reinventing online meetings into public art platforms comes in time for us. Let us all flex our creative muscle and explore new ways to connect with people using art as a bridge.

After learning the concept of public art from the workshop, I did a quick reflection on my own art experience. Check out if you are interested!

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