Madrid Art Bioscope

Importance of art 

Art is a repository of a society’s collective memory; it tends to preserve what historical facts cannot. It's a form of representation of culture and tradition in the most lucid form and acts as a visual language that speaks to all. It has become a chronicle that has created different identities for itself, namely, visual, performing, and written. 

Art creates ocular stories that cannot be divorced from its cultural implications and must be embraced. It has the power to awaken all your senses and convert them into ideas. It has been shaping society and culture subconsciously from times unknown. Art’s transition from utilitarian purposes and aesthetics into work of expression happened hundreds of years after its birth. 

Where is it now? Art is the fundamental form of representation yet it is unnoticed, at the comfort of our screens there is a visual barrier that deprives us of its actual flavour. 

Art in life?

Art as a symbol of expression has been voicing society’s opinions and grievances and has been present through wars and victories. Today, tables have turned and art is restricted to reach only a handful who have developed an interest by virtue. Although art has made its presence through digital media and has taken various roles (in the form of visual, performing and written arts) and built a virtual relationship, there is a disconnect that exists. 

This gap has been aggravated by limited accessibility and the unavailability of art everywhere. Lack of direct interaction opportunity with performing arts and the cost restrictions that accompany when one wishes to experience a live performance in a theatre has diminished the association we shared with art. Will this ever change? 

Lost connection to art 

Enjoying any form of art sounds implausible to a large number of people who have never experienced art physically, or found an opportunity to build a relationship. From an artist’s perspective, this situation has worsened, as pursuing any form of art as their means of livelihood for sustenance is a far-fetched dream for many. 

Entertainers, dancers, musicians or street artists perform individually in open public spaces. They have enabled the option of an exclusive form of interaction for the audience by offering art as an experience. They have challenged the antiquated form of displaying art only in theatres by their performance. But, their reach is bound by a lack of infrastructural support on performance locations or the disengagement of spectators with art that persists. 

Can we as designers suggest an alternative to house such artists by giving them an open platform to explore their potential? Can this intervention help re-establish the lost connection of people with art? 

If art is the pinnacle of expression, then why is it understood by only a few? Art was meant to be universal yet it seems art is not for everyone. 

 Madrid art

Art is timeless. However, the mediums to show art in the physical realm are quite outdated. Theatres helped in the past in a generation when television and the internet were yet to gain traction. In today’s world if people are not coming to view art (because of many factors), can’t art forms reach out to people? 

Can architecture and technology help us to reach our audiences in a way that appeals to today’s age? A Bioscope is a device (also referred to as a theatre in a box), which gives an audiovisual experience portably. The idea behind this is to bring a theatre-like experience to the streets at a very tiny price. Its facilitator travelled from place to place bringing new visuals of art forms, places and performances through its short films inside it. 

Brief - The Madrid Artist’s Bioscope: This problem takes inspiration from street artists and equips them with a bioscope-like architectural device that enables them to perform with a portable theatre on the streets of Madrid. The challenge here is to design a shared portable theatre box for a group of street artists. 

Objectives

The Madrid Artist’s Bioscope is conceived to be an all-inclusive set-up of what an artist should need for performance, be it lights, speakers, props, backdrops, seats, modern visualization equipment, etc. The portable theatre box has to be compact in nature, keeping in mind ease of movement through streets/urbanscapes or while being towed by a car. The bioscope is not conceived as a place for living for the artists, but as portable theatre only. 

• Mobile: Design should follow principles of portability, ergonomics and mobility. 
• Flexible & Expandable: The device must be Expandable enough to be placed in any public plaza across the city. 
• Technology: Integrates new mediums of technology and visualization in the bioscope. 
• Adaptive: The bioscope should be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of diverse kinds of artists (painters, musicians, entertainers, etc.)

Madrid

Spain and its culture is widely known for Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, vibrant beaches and lots of festivals and art forms that can be relished only when experienced live. It has been one of the cultural centers of Europe for thousands of years and has a culture that is based on a combination of historical influences, primarily that of Ancient Rome. 

Madrid is the capital city of Spain with almost 6.6 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, and the third-largest city in the European Union. The city lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of the country. As the capital city of Spain, the seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of the country. It houses the famous Golden Triangle of Arts that comprises three Museums and has one of the most visited art museums in the world. 

The city has a number of plazas and public squares on small and large scales that house open markets, gathering spaces, and community spaces for the residents. Since 2010 the residents themselves have taken the initiative to revamp unused urban spaces into areas of collaborative art and cultural centers. Campe de la cebada, La Tabacalera, were few such projects that reclaimed old urban spaces to provide space for cultural and art events. 

A few of these public spaces are documented above where most of our artists are found performing. Every public space has a different flavour and a different challenge to put on a show. How can architecture add value to these places in a temporal medium? 

Public spaces of Madrid 

The city has a number of plazas and public squares on small and large scales that house open markets, gathering spaces, and community spaces for the residents. Since 2010 the residents themselves have taken the initiative to revamp unused urban spaces into areas of collaborative art and cultural centers. 

Campe de la cebada, La Tabacalera, were few such projects that reclaimed old urban spaces to provide space for cultural and art events. A few of these public spaces are documented above where most of our artists are found performing. Every public space has a different flavour and a different challenge to put on a show. How can architecture add value to these places in a temporal medium?