A project by Irit Rogoff and Nora Sternfeld for freethought
Commissioned by the Bergen Assembly, 2016

Protocol

Enter into a conversation with someone whose experience of an exhibition (from anywhere in the world and of any kind) feels relevant to you.

After a preliminary discussion, film the conversation.

If possible, use a steady camera and a good light source (similar to the format of other interviews in the archive). If this is not possible, use an online communication device, ask the interviewee to light their surroundings well, and record their voice with an external microphone.

Use an interview method that prioritises listening rather than conversation. The focus could be on how an exhibition has touched, changed, or made a difference for the person you speak with, or on what the exhibition meant for them. From there on, it might be possible to move in the direction of describing the exhibition, or talking about conversations that arose in its aftermath, while allowing space for the interviewee to bring up other significant memories or associations.

Finally, edit the film so it is no longer than a 15-minute testimonial. Edit out your own questions so the resulting film is a narrative account by the person interviewed.

Send the recording to info@bakonline.org. Please note that in the spirit of serious, reflected, and shared processes, the selection of contributions that appear online is moderated. We will engage in conversation with each contributor before uploading the interviews to the archive; in cases where recordings are not selected, we are happy to offer feedback.

Irit Rogoff and Nora Sternfeld for freethought