Camden Alive is part of the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture and is a Mayor’s Cultural Impact Award winner. The London Borough of Culture is an initiative by the mayor of London for all the boroughs to celebrate their culture. It is meant to infuse and reignite the spirit of neighbourliness across the boroughs, for people to get to know other residents with whom they share a common heritage and culture. The cultural impact awards were given to boroughs with outstanding individual projects in their proposals.
Camden Alive seeks to creatively capture and showcase the spirit of the borough through art, music and cultural programmes. It will capture and present the true spirit of life in Camden through sounds, stories, music, dance, fashion, performances and visual arts all spun together into a virtual Camden People’s Museum. Incorporating an augmented reality app, the museum will animate the stories of the borough.
The Timeline
Camden Alive, in its first phase has been talking to residents, cultural organisations and groups of artists across the borough. These interactions will inspire the locals-led creation of artworks, performances and cultural programmes in the spring and summertime. In the autumn of 2019, it is expected to launch the virtual Camden People’s Museum amid other festivities and cultural celebrations.
Partnership with Arcade
The London-based augmented reality company, Arcade, is now on board the Camden Alive project and it will work to infuse the technological magic into this art and cultural event. It will bring the stories and the spirit of Camden Alive and connect people with places using augmented reality. Arcade will be redefining the very concepts of a museum and with its use of augmented reality, will be able to turn people from disengaged bystanders into active participants.
How will it be Developed?
Unlike a traditional walled museum, the Camden People’s Museum will be without walls, without entry charges, and it will exist out in the real world, around the real people and around the visitors. The use of the augmented reality and related technology will allow both the residents and the visitors to experience the museum remotely as well.
The unconventional and controversial Artist and writer from the Kentish town, Scottee, will also be infusing his energy, madness and showmanship in the collaborative artwork alongside residents that will provide a completely novel way for residents to connect with their town. According to Scottee, it will turn into an open to all art space showcasing and celebrating the stories and the culture of the town.
Camden Council will also be collaborating with the Camden People’s Theatre (CPT). They will work engage the residents throughout the year, to create new performances and artwork that truly captures their culture, heritage and stories. This will also serve as an opportunity for the residents to work with artists like Scottee, and to gain insight into augmented reality and experience working with arcade technologies.
