On Purpose Conceptual Guided Tour

I am working on the tour of the Somerset House exhibition - 'Wouldn't It Be Nice Exhibition'.

Brief given by Abake.

Give a guided tour of the On Purpose exhibition at the Arnolfini but the tour is to take place at Somerset House at the 'Wouldn't it be Nice Exhibition.'

I'm giving secrets away here but this is the brief I have set myself.


1. to do the tour as if it were a tour of the Bristol Show as straight as possible
2. But not to force the tour into absurdity - i.e. if there is an elephant in Bristol but not one in Somerset House don't keep referring to the Elephant to the confusion of the tour.
(there is no elephant by the way)
3. Not to let the audience into the secret if I can help it.
4. To do the tour 'blind' i.e. not to visit the Somerset House exhibition in advance

My aim is to keep my Arnolfini exhibition guided tour 'text' intact in my head and to use this to guide my tour in Somerset House. I think a prior viewing of the Somerset House exhibition will 'contaminate' my Arnolfini narrative. I'll find ways to fudge it. I want my tour to be created by the Arnolfini exhibition plus my wits.

5. The message of the On purpose exhibition should be the lens through which I see the Somerset House exhibition-with fresh eyes.

6. My aim is to satisfy my curiosity to see if a tour conceived in one place can have relevance to another place - I really want this to be the experiment and I don't want to compromise it.

The other part of the Experiment is to explore the design issues in giving guided tours.

7. Guided tours are often heavily scripted, or a repeated narrative so I want Improvisation to be a key element of the tour.

8. As a jass musician rifs on a theme I have asked ABAKE to provide some themes for me to work with:

a. I asked for some Design articles they considered important
b. 10 important designers
c. 10 isms that influence design

9. Guided tours are normally given by THE EXPERT to the audience - this can be reversed and participation tried

10 the audience tend to be mute while the guide does the talking
11 The audience follow the guide - maybe we should try vice versa?
12 Guides are garulous and didactic maybe they could be monosylabic and dogmatic
13 Guided tours normally educate, inform, entertain and exercise - we'll try to add some physical exercise

On doing my research I discover that Daniel Eatock's mini manifesto is relevant.

Daniel Eatock
Born 1975 Bolton, UK
Lives and works in London, UK

nterested in the connection of the start and end points of a hand drawn circle.

Mini Manifesto

Begin with ideas
Embrace chance
Celebrate coincidence
Ad-lib and make things up
Eliminate superfluous elements
Subvert expectation
Make something difficult look easy
Be first or last
Believe complex ideas can produce simple things
Trust the process
Allow concepts to determine form
Reduce material and production to their essence
Sustain the integrity of an idea
Propose honesty as a solution


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