NODEM 2014 Proceedings

Restaging a Garden Party: Sharing Social Histories through the Design of Digital and Material Interactive Experiences
The consideration and use of museum material as social objects, according to Simon, doesn’t separate visitors
from the historic material. Rather, “… it let us onto the stage to share it with the actor, the objects, and the
story at hand” (Simon 2010 ch 4 n.p.). Our students, through their role in the project, were encouraged to see
themselves as on stage too. In turn they developed theatrical responses to their brief. The gardens of Olveston
House are public spaces and they are reframed by these designs, becoming both an exhibit space and a theatrical
space, visitors can continue to explore it imaginatively and beyond the terms offered by the designed
experience of the home tours. Simon suggests that this is a conscious choice. “Most social objects are personal,
active, provocative and relational. To make objects social, you need to design platforms that promote them
explicitly as the center of conversation” (Simon 2010, ch 4, n.p.).
While Diller et al.’s model of Experience Design proposes an emotional connection with the space, object or
activity; Simon’s methods more explicitly engage objects in a social relationship, with and between people.
For both thinkers, communication is most powerful when it is personal and actively involves a participatory
experience. These experiences evoke meaning with and through objects, spaces and storytelling, rather than
through passively consuming information. Just as the physical objects in Museum contexts tell their stories, so
too our own physicality contributes to the story and histories of the cities we inhabit.
The projects’ research, development and outcomes
Because of the short overall time frame for the project we wanted to engage the class quickly with the stories
and narratives surrounding Olveston House. We began by taking tours of the house, then immediately debriefed
to discuss what we had seen and heard and what we thought were significant and relevant historical
markers for us, rather than what the tour might present. At this point we initiated a 48-hour research challenge.
Students formed groups to research, imagine and write scenarios for a party hosted at Olveston in 1907 for
Dorothy Theomin. They identified groups of party-goers and researched into the types of conversations they
might have. Each scenario included characters, a topic of conversation and a location in the house or gardens.
Who would these people be? What would they talk about? Who were the Theomin’s social circle and what did
they share?
To do this students accessed information from other museums and libraries in Dunedin, including The Hocken
Archive and Toitu Otago Settlers Museum. Online resources such as a New Zealand digital newspaper archive 1
and an online New Zealand encyclopaedia gave important local social context to understanding their city 100
years earlier, including detailed records kept of just such parties. The outcomes from this challenge showed
a high level of engagement, exploration and discovery. Scenarios presented included the introduction of domestic
electricity use (Olveston was one of the first houses in Dunedin to have this), the differences in food
production and consumption, Theomin’s philanthropic work, 2 Dorothy’s recently completed education at the
Roedean School in Britain and the association of the Theomin’s with other well-known early colonial family
businesses, many still in existence.
At this point we also divided the whole group into two teams based on shared interests and expertise. One
group focussed on the gift shop and the development of potential ‘aides-memoires’. From the start this team
was interested in the idea of turn of the century food production and consumption. Not having supermarkets
to rely on, the students were inspired by the comprehensive and relatively modern kitchen and scullery in
Olveston. They set about developing a recipe book which reflected the tastes and available ingredients of 19 th
century as well as developing hand printed kitchen towels and cards. Their design process led them to engage
with a number of food production companies still operating in Dunedin and with commercial printing processes
relatively unchanged.
1
www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz, www.teara.govt.nz
2
Notably with Dr Truby King, the founder of the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society.
NODEM 2014 Conference & Expo
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