Developmental programming for participatory art: searching for the meanings of colours

The presentation and data collection workshop was selected through competitive call for submissions. It was in the early stage development of a series of artworks intended to map social/political/empirical associations with colour that challenged concepts of consistency in meaning. The first aim of the presentation was the dissemination of information related to Colours of the Sphere; a participatory/contributory artwork being developed through a series of public encounters. The 2008 tour had included exhibition within artist residencies at: Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth 2008, Portsmouth Grammar School 2008, Havant College 2008, Tidworth Army Barracks, Wiltshire 2008 and Quay Arts Centre, I.O.W. 2008. These residencies (and other residencies in the previous year including Midlands Arts Centre [The MAC], Birmingham) all had the purpose of collecting video material from participants and questionnaire data for the development of a planned Analytical Colour Engine. The tour had been planned to intersect with a wide socio-political/economic demographic. It had therefore included sites as demographically diverse as inner city junior schools, army barracks and university conferences attended by world experts within their field. The data collected has contributed to the now 1000+ contributions to the Analytical Colour Engine that includes video transcript of narrative and questionnaire data.