Foundations of a Design Framework for DIY Nomadic Public Screens

Abstract (short paper)

This paper discusses a new research-creation project, which proposes to explore the DIY making and deploying of humanscale portable interactive displays for the purpose of supporting both artistic exhibitions and performances. Made from colorful modular panels and electronic components, these interactive screens are meant to serve as mobile digital public displays and nomadic screens for artists, activists and others who wish to stage improvised events in public space. A key objective of this project is to recover, reinterpret and combine historical traditions of interactive media and visual storytelling to inform the design of these artefacts. Accordingly, this paper adopts a media archaeological approach to look at four topoi that might lay the theoretical foundation of a design framework for DIY nomadic public screens. In doing so, DIY making becomes a détournement of cultural appropriation in that, here, it is DIY minority cultures that draw on elements of dominant cultures.