EXHIBITION TOOLKIT HOW TO CREATE AN EXHIBITION TOGETHER WITH YOUNG PEOPLE - DECIDES Europe

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       EXHIBITION TOOLKIT
    HOW TO CREATE AN EXHIBITION TOGETHER WITH
                 YOUNG PEOPLE

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                     “This publication was funded by the European Union’s [[Rights, Equality and Cit-
                    izenship Programme (REC 2014-2020)]. The content of this publication represents
                    only the views of the autors (Lise Skou and Tanja Nellemann Kruse) and is their sole
                    responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use
                    that may be made of the information it contains."

This publication is written by the artists Tanja Nellemann Kruse and Lise Skou
Women’s Museum in Denmark 2020.

ABOUT THE DECIDES EUROPE PROJECT AND THIS TOOLKIT

The project aims to contribute to the prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by increasing the
youth’s attention to all forms of GBV, its causes and effects. The target group of the project is
youth between the ages of 15-18 years, teachers, school managers, and parents as well as profes-
sionals otherwise involved with the youth.

In collaboration with 75 youths from three different schools the visual artists Lise Skou and Tanja
Nellemann Kruse created an exhibition on the youth’s thoughts on GBV. The exhibition ran at the
Women’s Museum in March-June 2020.

This toolkit is produced for this project and the artistic methods are chosen for this specific event.
The artists have chosen to work with performances and billboards in public space.
These artistic expressions can be replaced with other expressions and methods in accordance to the
subject you work with.

When working with young people and school classes it is very important for the outcome and the
process that the teachers at the involved schools or institutions are dedicated to the task.

MAIN QUESTION

How can art be used in activism addressing difficult issues and themes such as GBV in the
public space?

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1. INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

Gathering knowledge on the subject together with the students:

OPEN brainstorming:
   WHAT is Gender Based Violence?

       What kind of Gender Based Violence do the students know?

       In their own words; what sub-topic can be unfolded?

Make a mapping of the subject through smaller exercises such as a simple brainstorm - in smaller
groups or the whole group depending on size -, playful exercises and research through statistics and
more. Use the mapping as a tool throughout the process.

Talk about the taboos of the subject.

Presenting statistics and writings on the defined sub-topics (e.g physical violence, hate crime, psy-
chological violence, social control e.t.c.)
Show films and other materials, statements from the government, institutions or organizations on
the subject.

GROUP WORK on each sub-topic:
- What defines the sub topic?
- What is the most important statistics and how many victims on this is to be found?

Discuss:
- Why is the youth important in this context?

Outcome:
- What is the outcome of the process/your work?

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2. INTRODUCTION TO ART IN PUBLIC SPACE /PRESENTATION OF ARTISTIC
METHODS

How to work with ART as public intervention and/or interruption
(BILLBOARD and Performative acts)

Billboards in public spaces
Show examples from the history of art until nowadays
How does artwork interrupt in e.g. the commercial (market) place?

Group discussion on different examples of billboards:
- What do you see on each billboard?
- Which one do you prefer and why?
- What does the billboard communicate and how?
- What instruments/methods are used to communicate?

                                                               Performative act in public spaces
                                                               - Show examples of performative
                                                               acts historically and in contempo-
                                                               rary art.
                                                               - The workshop facilitators carry
                                                               out a small and short live perfor-
                                                               mance using their own body as a
                                                               way to express a feeling and to in-
                                                               spire the students to act.
                                                               - How to use your body and
                                                               senses as an important tool in a
                                                               performative act.

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3. WORKING AND PRODUCING

Brainstorming in groups on ideas and content

Condense your material:
– what is the most important in your chosen sub topic to Gender Based Violence,
- What are your groups thoughts on this?

4. REGARDING BILLBOARDS

Billboard tools:
- How can you discuss, talk about and/or communicate a certain view on your selected topic? This
can be done in a serious way, a fun way, over-dramatic, understated, or another way?
- And why have you chosen to communicate in this specific way?
- How do text and images work together on the billboard?
- And what kind of image do you need to emphasize the story you want to tell, the feeling you want
  to create, the information you wish to share with the public or the certain expression you wish to
  visualize?

Small assignments:

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To get a sense of the methods and materials to be used in producing the art work for the exhibition:
             1. Make a billboard only with text.
             2. Make a billboard only with images
             3. Make a billboard with both

Presentation for the rest of the groups
Discuss:
      - How was your process? How did you plan your billboard and what method of communica-
        tion did you use and why?
      - What does with or without text do to your content?
      - What works the best?

Layout billboards
Introduction:
- Teach the students how to work with the layout, programme, size, resolution, design tools etc.
- Exercises in how to do a good photo to use in the final art work/billbaord.
- Talk about other important issues and pitfalls in bringing the work to print.

Group work:
- Work in group or individual with your chosen sub topic.
- Brainstorming - what do you want to include in your final billboard (photos, texts, drawings, col-
  lages e.t.c.)
- Work with the combination of text and image (if you choose to have both).
- If text: how is the text materialized?

Preparation of the final work billboard:
Eg. photoshoot: If involving other people. Make arrangements. Prepare them.
Eg. collages: How to scan the collage or drawings into the final size and format needed.
Eg. Find the public site for your work: You need to define this before you finalize the work, taking
the environment/context into account. Plus, to be able to design your billboard in the correct meas-
urements, and how to mount the billboard (is the billboard in paper or textile? do you need holes or
“eyes” to put up with wire?). Also consider if your chosen site is a site often used to show bill-
boards?

How to do the final print file?
- Introduction to using InDesign?
- Things to remember in your final documents (such as e.g. 3-5 mm bleed).
- Or make arrangements with graphic designer to set up the final file for print

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5. REGARDING PERFORMANCE

Try out
Quick “try-out” with performative strategies:
- Try to make an action with pre chosen props (Workshop facilitator bring this for the youngsters to
  choose. This could be masks, yellow wests, wire, tape, or other)
- Every group select a one or two props
- 10- 20 min preparation
- Every group perform their “try-out” for all the participants.

Discussion in the large group:
- What works and why or why not?
- What does it do to you - feelings, thoughts?

Performative tools to use:
- Talk about the intuitive, things you don’t expect to happen, the surprising event, the place, bodies,
  sound, interactions etc.
- How to combine different layers of meaning with props, clothes, your body senses, colors etc.

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- Discuss the site for your event/action.
- How to include sounds, speech, singing etc. and the effect of this

Brainstorming for your final performance
   1. Where will it happen?
   2. Who will perform - how many?
   3. Use of props, sound, talk, speech, interaction, narrative, loops, signs?
   4. Do you need e.g. electricity, water …other…?

Preparation of the final performance:
- E.g. if you wish to do a participatory performance event remember to invite participance to join.
Consider types of people, actor, characters, ethnicities etc.
- E.g. do you need someone to document your performance on video?
- e.g. do you need to have permission from the local municipality to perform the act in a public
space?
- How do you want to announce the event? If any?

Rehearsal:
Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal - timing is extremely important.
Consider how to articulate certain words, texts - speak, read, shout, whisper etc.

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6. GENERAL THOUGHTS

General thoughts on both billboards and performance:

-   Where to announce the event?
-   Who is your main audience/ target group? (peer to peer or)
-   How to make a press release?
-   What SoMe do you choose to use?
-   Could you have the same billboards as postcards, stickers etc..?

If you do an exhibition in connection to actions and interventions in the public space:
- Then you might want to link the exhibition to the performance carried out:
      - Visually
      - Thematic
      - Conceptually
      - Produce a map, a route, a schedule,
      - You could also for example arrange a guided walk etc.