Output details

A game we made up and Stories we have been told

Miller participated in Swap/Vaihto, an artists exchange programme between UK and Finland, to explore collaboration and working methodologies around ideas of cultural identity and migratory art practice. Miller's research investigated dialogue and exchange in the collaborative production of art, generating discussion and discourse by means of bespoke question and answer games played in selected locations between Miller (with Carson) and six invited players. These activities provoked a participatory form of life-writing informed by the exchanges between the players and Carson & Miller. The methodology references the Surrealists' Exquisite Corpse technique and Walton’s (1990) proposal of a ‘collaborative daydream’.

Game structure was devised to reflect both the context and participants with, for example, a game with questions themed around knowledge and uncertainty played in a museum with an expectant father. Miller’s work enables audiences to engage in a number of ways: as active participants; as observers of ‘live’ game-playing; and as viewers/listeners of the work resulting from the game-playing process.

This research contributes to a body of knowledge around inclusive arts practice, and advances contemporary art discourse on collaborative practice. It is particularly relevant to discussions about the difference between collaboration and participation, as defined by Beech (2008).

The resultant artworks were shown in the international invited group exhibition "Swap/Vaihto", taking the form of live game-playing as well as audio and textual recordings of games presented in gallery spaces (http://www.bureaugallery.com/archive.asp?g=4&key=22&p=5&Ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bureaugallery.com%2Farchive.asp%3Fg%3D4%26p%3D5 , http://www.finnish-institute.org.uk/en/articles/277-swap-vaihto-artist-exchange & http://www.hiap.fi/event/swap-vaihto). The exhibition was supported by Arts Council England, Arts Council of Finland, British Council, Bureau, the Cable Factory, Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP), the Finnish Embassy, the Finnish Institute and Salford City Council. The work was presented at the international conference “Not a day without a line: Artists’ words and writings" (Ghent, 2011, http://notadaywithoutaline.wordpress.com/program/) and at the international symposium, “Curatorial Practices Reframed" (Cyprus, 2013, http://www.oncurating.com/international-symposium/program-abstract).