The Personal Shrine Project
The call-out to Artists:
In the ever-shifting landscape of our digital age, the tangible remains a touchstone of memory and identity. The Personal Shrine Project has been designed to activate participants, offering an interactive platform for them to unravel and weave stories through the very artifacts that shape their personal histories. This project is not just an exhibition but an ever-evolving dialogue, a testbed of shared experiences that goes beyond the gallery walls.
There persists an undeniable allure in tactile objects that hold within them stories, emotions, and fragments of one's identity. The "Personal Shrines" project emerges from this very essence, marrying the tangible with the intangible and breathing life into seemingly mundane artifacts that nestle within their confines deep-seated tales of human experiences.
At its core, the project takes inspiration from the cherished ethos of museums – places of collective memory, safeguarding relics that narrate broader cultural and societal stories. Yet, it also challenges these conventional spaces by empowering the individual as a 'mini-curator' of their very own personal museum. Echoing the evocative tradition of the Indian Kavad storytelling box, this initiative transforms personal narratives into visual legacies, emphasising that every life, no matter how ordinary, holds extraordinary tales.
Ways to Participate:
Objects Collection: Rooted in the belief that every object holds a tale, participants are invited to bring items of personal significance. Whether it's a weathered photograph, a piece of jewelry passed down generations, or even a trinket from a memorable journey, every object becomes a portal to a story.
Artistic Pieces: Artists, both seasoned and budding, are encouraged to respond to the theme by creating art pieces that resonate with the concept of personal archives. These could range from sculptures, installations, multimedia works, to immersive soundscapes.
Written Narratives: Participants can pen down tales associated with their chosen objects or even craft standalone stories that revolve around the theme of memory and identity. These narratives can be shared in various formats: personal essays, poems, short stories, or even anecdotal snippets.
Workshops: Central to the "Personal Shrines" project is the storytelling workshop, where attendees get to be "mini-curators" of their experiences. Here, the act of sharing becomes a communal experience, allowing for the exchange of tales and the formation of new connections.
Digital Interventions: Recognizing the merger of the tangible and digital, there's a space for augmented reality or virtual reality pieces that allow participants to dive into digital archives, perhaps exploring someone's memory in a virtual space or overlaying digital memories on physical objects.
Curated by Devanshi Rungta
Driven by a deep commitment to the arts and community engagement, Devanshi has championed grassroots initiatives and evolved them into prominent artistic platforms.
As the co-founder of Art Rickshaw, Devanshi’s vision has always been rooted in broadening art accessibility. Her role in the Kolkata Arts Lane Festival as Curator saw her spearhead a transformative street art movement, fostering dialogue in unconventional spaces.
Devanshi’s portfolio of work includes projects curated at institutions like the V&A, Centre Pompidou, and Sir John Soane's Museum. A recent Royal College of Art graduate, Devanshi’s current project is informed by her master's research into how museums interact with communities, looking at research methodologies of democratising the act of cultural preservation.
insta @devanshir / twitter aka X @rungta.devanshi / LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/devanshi-rungta-82306b103 / website 2023.rca.ac.uk/students/devanshi-rungta
Submission deadline: Friday 12th April at 23h59 GMT
Media accepted: All media.
Free submission. All are welcome to apply, of any age, status, and from anywhere in the world.
If selected, we ask Artists for a £22 contribution (like crowdfunding) and/or to give some of their time, as we are all volunteers. Please read our FAQs here to find out more.
See all 20 projects open to submissions on our home page: fringeartsbath.co.uk
Fringe Arts Bath Festival will take place 24 May to 9 June 2024
To submit your work: please email the Curator shrine@fringeartsbath.co.uk including:
NB: please include the exhibition / project name in the email title.
max 200 words about your work and how it fits the call-out (written, audio file, video or another way to suit you).
some images of the work, or links to video / performance work (or existing work if it hasn’t been made yet).
any relevant links, if you have them (though it’s not a requirement and Curators might not have the capacity to visit them all).
of course please include any questions you have.
you might not hear back from Curators until after the deadline, thank you for your patience.
