SoundMapp: participatory design in museum space

This paper explores the possibility of creating alternative user experience in exhibition spaces while using audience interactivity as medium for generating sonic material. We are investigating participatory art in museum space, ways for redefining audiences, and how 'artistic logic can enter into dialogue with plurality of voices' as Stephanie Cheung (2015) stated. Inspired by the 'ArtLens' mobile application developed by The Cleveland Museum of Art, our research adopted an interdisciplinary approach engaging museum visitors with an interactive app. The app maps the exhibition space with sound frequencies, then tracks the journey of each visitor as they go through the exhibition. It was developed as a prototype and applied in a mock exhibition space in Edinburgh College of Art with student volunteers. The unique combination of sounds derived from the user's journey not only allowed the forming of sound sequences but also put the users in an active position to enhance their involvement in otherwise neglected spatial experience. The next step of our research will apply the prototype in museum spaces and explore how the characteristics of different architectural spaces could influence the result.