Building the infrastructure to build a structure

FIELDWORK BLOG

Shane Sugrue

This blog records the ongoing fieldwork portion of my research into participatory art, performance and public celebration as modes of political action fostering civic engagement. Considering cultural activities such as festivals, street parades, and large-scale art installations as forms of ritualised spatial practice, or theatre, this project uses the methods of architectural design to examine the material and spatial dimensions of these activities in order to determine the social and political role they might play. This work is carried out as part of the MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) at the Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge.

Having been embedded within a community of artists, activists and community organisers in Brisbane over the last number of years, I have made the observation that participating in the production of grassroots cultural events is often a transformative experience for participants of diverse backgrounds, challenging their preconceptions of place, identity, and community, heightening their expectations of democratic participation and accountable governance, and empowering them to exercise creative agency. Drawing on my experience as both a participant and organiser of these events, my aim with this research is to develop a methodology for design practice that a) validates this observation, and b) can be repeated in new contexts. In order to do this, I have proposed to undertake a series of design experiments that seek to enact this type of transformative participation. A pilot study presented the first set of these tests – a series of paper design exercises through which I have developed a theoretical approach and a concept design proposal. The fieldwork period is taken as an opportunity to further develop these in a series of full-scale built and performed interventions in-situ. These will be undertaken in collaboration with arts practitioners and cultural organisations in Brisbane, and paired with detailed site and context analysis, in order to develop a schematic design proposal to be carried forward into the next phase of the project.

The first few days onsite at Yelarbon were spent unloading and constructing the basic infrastructure to allow the larger builds to proceed. This included the crew kitchen, workshop and storage areas; marking out the main access routes and camping areas; shade structures at the build locations, and of course a portaloo - though in previous years this has only arrived after a few days onsite, so to have it from the beginning was considered something of a luxury! Next up was power and lighting, a site office, and a dining space.

The event site was marked out using a laser measure from a fixed set-out point indicated on the hand-drawn site plans shown below. These plans were then used by the Dept of Infrastructure and Construction (DIC) to lay out the key infrastructure starting with the crew compound and working outwards. Drawn by the event Town Planner and architectural graduate Stirling Blacket, the site layout was established through a community design process over the course of several months leading up to the event. The key considerations were local Indigenous land use and mythology, soil conditions, existing burn scars from previous year’s events, traffic management and minimising vehicle impact, noise mitigation for neighbouring graziers, and the creation of effective civic spaces.

25 June: The first structure goes up on site - a 12x8m marquee, soon to become the crew kitchen, tool storage and workshop.

26 June: shade structures are erected at the build sites, some 500m from the crew compound, affording the Temple and Bug crews (and their tools!) some protection from the elements - primarily sun and dust - in the days ahead.

The author (left) giving Tom Brown (middle), effigy lead, a hand getting some additional shade up in the wind, while Jorja Christensen - a blow-in from Perth - gets the tool table set up for the day.

It’s a long walk back to camp if you’ve forgotten your tool bag - the view back towards the crew compound from the Effigy site (300m away). Keeping builds on schedule is an ongoing challenge - a couple of forgetful moments due to dehydration and fat… — It’s a long walk back to camp if you’ve forgotten your tool bag - the view back towards the crew compound from the Effigy site (300m away). Keeping builds on schedule is an ongoing challenge - a couple of forgetful moments due to dehydration and fatigue and the short Winter days can very easily slip away.