果冻影院

Earlier this year, we听invited students to curate an audio guide for the Power! exhibition at the 果冻影院 Culture Lab, with the aim of sharing new voices, developing audio production skills and helping to improve accessibility and representation across the collections.听

The result was听three听audio guides, exploring personal perspectives on power through three distinctive themes: queerness, materials, and technology.

These were curated and developed by 果冻影院 students Aaditya Khurana (BA German and History of Art,听果冻影院 Department of History of Art), Charo Havermans (SCCI MA Public History, 果冻影院 Department of History) and Han Sun (BA Comparative Literature, School of European Languages, Culture and Society.)

We spoke with two of the curators, Aaditya and Charo, about their experiences of creating their unique guides听and the reasons behind their chosen theme.
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Queering Power!

By Charo Havermans

Beyond referring to queerness and the queer (LGBTQIA+) community, queering also means to question, to problematise, and to embrace a multitude of perspectives.听

Queerness and power are of course closely related. Fostering community and harnessing queer power is essential in a world in which queerness remains largely marginalised and oppressed. With , Charo takes us on a journey through queer elements of the Culture Lab 鈥楶ower!鈥� exhibition and prompts us to call accepted notions of power and queerness into question.

听This audioguide features the following objects:

• How to Publish Your Very Own Underground Newspaper听
• Gay Left Journal听
• Lancaster Harding Photo Album
• Gay Rights Pamphlet

Charo says: 鈥淎udio enables us to tell stories that silent objects simply can鈥檛, and to make new connections within a space that feel more tangible and personal. You can hear the typewriter, chants of protest and the gentle sound of someone leafing through the pages of a newspaper. 听

鈥淎s a queer person, it feels poignant to share the stories that connect to that experience, especially in a space focused on power. I hope this audio guide invites a more creative, queer, and comfortable approach to navigating the Culture Lab, and indeed any other exhibition space, and to exploring our personal relationships with queerness and queering".

She adds: 鈥淪pending some quality time with some of these objects and researching the context in which they were produced was incredibly enriching to me. It was fun to trace a queer path throughout the exhibition and highlight how both individual and collective queer voices come to the fore鈥�.听

Power of Materials

By Aaditya Khurana

础补诲颈迟测补鈥檚 delves into 听a selection of materials from the 果冻影院 materials library, focusing on three intriguing objects within a single cabinet: a seashell, nitrous oxide balloons, and uranium ore.听

The guide takes listeners on a journey through the three chosen objects, examining their connections to the concept of power both generally and through 础补诲颈迟测补鈥檚 personal experiences. To enhance the narrative, he听also crafted accompanying soundscapes, aiming to explore the power of sound alongside these materials.

Aaditya says: I chose this cabinet because it was distinct from the others in that it focused on the material qualities of the objects themselves. This allowed me to explore and combine the three selected objects in ways I wouldn't have otherwise considered.听

鈥淓ach object represented a different experience, memory, and sense of power, each uniquely affecting me. Through scripts and soundscapes, I aimed to imbue these objects with a distinct personality and create a narrative that brought out the unique qualities and interactions of these diverse materials, ultimately delivering a sonic experience鈥�.

He adds: 鈥淐reating the audio guides was an incredibly enjoyable and thought-provoking experience, and I gained significant insights into the curatorial process and narrative creation. Recording the guides in a studio was a lot of fun! Crafting the soundscapes showed me how I could draw out my personal experiences through audio production and merge them with spoken narrative.听

鈥淚 hope the audio guide enables users to close their eyes and fully immerse themselves to truly feel the power of the objects and recognise their significance in the exhibition鈥�.

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鈥�鈥淚 love how each audio guide not only gives visitors a deeper understanding of the objects in front of them, but also really draws out the individual voice and creativity of each of us. Now there鈥檚 a bit of Han, Aaditya and me in the exhibition too.鈥澨�Charo Havermans

Accessibility matters

The Power! audio guides were听produced by听Camella Ramjet, Collections Care and Curatorial Assistant at the Culture Lab.听As a neurodiverse museum professional, Camella saw the importance of producing an audio guide that could aid in creating an accessible experience.听

鈥�"While creating audio guides in the past and listening to them myself, I have experienced the impact they have on accessibility to exhibitions for disabled and neurodivergent visitors. Being able to produce these for the Power! exhibition has been an important part of the project for me and I鈥檓 so proud of the work these students have produced!鈥澨�Camella Ramjet

Find out more and get involved

• Camella is working on some more audio guides for the rest of the exhibition.听If you would like to take part, please contact her at听camella.ramjet.21@ucl.ac.uk.
• .
• Visit the 果冻影院 Culture Lab Power! exhibition