Case Study
Chicken & Egg Pictures
Communications & Storytelling
Creative Direction
Events & Workshops
Research & Data Distillation
Silo Solving
Background
Chicken & Egg Pictures supports women nonfiction filmmakers whose artful and innovative storytelling catalyzes social change. The Art Directors Club (ADC)—in partnership with Shutterstock—hosted a two-week interactive exhibition celebrating Chicken & Egg Pictures' 10-anniversary. An opening night/ anniversary party was held on Oct. 22, 2015. Five creatives were selected to create an art installation for one of five selected films that represented the portfolio of important work the Chicken & Egg has supported over the decade. Each creative was provided with the same small grant to create the work.
By Mnemosyne's Founder was selected to bring to life the powerful Chicken & Egg supported film, Sepideh: Reaching for the Stars, created by Danish filmmaker and social anthropologist, Berit Madsen. The curated exhibit served as the stage backdrop for the anniversary/fundraising event.
Scope of work
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Interactive Storytelling
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Historical Research
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Exhibit Curation & Design
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Film Production
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Collaboration
Results
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Out of the five selected creatives commissioned for the exhibit/installations, BY “M”'s proposed work was selected to serve as the stage backdrop for the organization's 10-year anniversary gala
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The celebratory art and exhibit also formed as a STEM and cultural literacy learning tool for viewers and attendees.
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Contributed to a successful celebration and fundraising event
Exhibit Details
The exhibit was not created to be a literal interpretation of the film’s story. The interactive exhibit paid homage to the documentarian, Madsen, the lead character, Sepideh, women in the history of astronomy and film, and Chicken & Egg Pictures’ mission. Key aspects of Sepideh’s story—particularly that of an aspiring and visionary female youth determined to become an astronaut and physicist—were weaved into each of the six stations that made up the installation. One of the stations included a short film created by By “M”, which set a historical tone of America’s history in space exploration, to contextualize the narrative, that though the documentary was based upon a girl who live outside of the country, her story was relatable to the American audience who were the primary viewers of the exhibit.
Light technology and moving image were used to accentuate the exhibit, setting an intergalactic tone. However, the true interactive components of the exhibit were made up of thought-provoking activities such as wishing upon the “stars” and engagement with good old fashioned “classroom” physics. For instance, tuning forks were incorporated into one of the stations to not only suggest what “interstellar music” may sound like, but also to demonstrate that a small vibration, which is activated by an action, may emit a particular level of sound (frequency), but when placed upon a solid foundation, its frequency (poetically inter-exchangeable with a person’s voice or story) is amplified and reaches a wider audience, as does the power of impact storytelling.
The installation was meant to encourage participants to think outside of social and mental boxes and to re-awaken wonder in the beautiful universe we are a part of. By no way was the installation devoid of male figures within the history of astronomy and its cinematic representation. Collective history is made up of both histories and “herstories" from various creeds, nationalities, and backgrounds.
