Volunteers

Sandra Carluccio applied for an Internship in the July 2010 round and spent 10 weeks with Blast Theory in 2011. As a recent graduate, Blast Theory was able to introduce Sandra to how the company develops and implements creative projects. Sandra was a great addition to the team for a short time and in this photo she has become the 'face' of the Ghostwriter commission for Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.

About Sandra

I am an emerging performance artist from Brisbane, Australia who is investigating the potential of participatory performance experiences through the experimentation between urban sites, performance, and low-fi/ubiquitous technologies. In 2010, I completed a Bachelor of Creative Industries with Honours (majoring in Performance Studies) at Queensland University of Technology. During and since that time I have been developing my own practice as an independent artist through live art and participatory/interactive performances. In 2010, I was a member of Backbone Youth Art's Youth Ensemble. I have also worked as a collaborating artist with Melbourne's One Step At A Time Like This and their urban performance journey via mobile phone, mp3 and, other tactile objects, En Route in Brisbane City Council's Inhabit Fiesta (2010). Since 2011, I have been part of the Bounce Advisory Committee, an emerging artist advisory board for contemporary art and performance for Backbone Youth Arts. I am currently being mentored by Steve Bull from the PVI Collective in Perth, through JUMP, the Australia Council’s National mentoring program for young and emerging artists. Through the program I will be developing a locative media/site specific performance with public showings at Brisbane's Anywhere Theatre Festival in 2012. I hope to make a brief appearance in your everyday life with something memorable and fun.

The Internship

I spent 2 and half wonderful months with Blast Theory in 2011. After hearing so much about Blast Theory through my studies it was such a fantastic opportunity to meet the whole team and become part of the company and its workings for a short time. I was set to work testing the logic of performance pieces, scouting routes, overseeing the everyday running of A Machine to See With for the Brighton Digital Festival (which included chatting to a police officer about suspicious car park behaviour), marketing, archiving, sourcing materials, general administrative duties, sitting in and occasional chiming in on creative meetings such as Ghostwriter and the Red Cross commission, meeting other artists, visiting associate companies, getting my hands on video editing, a photo shoot at Exeter, and rummaging through their various books and video materials. Every task I completed while volunteering has informed my future work.

With my time at Blast Theory I was able to have one on one time with everyone, and got some great advice, either about my artistic practice, insight into Blast Theory’s, or being an entrepreneurial artist. The time I had was valuable and has enabled me to return to Australia with stronger skills and experience with my professional practice.

Lukus first met Blast Theory in Falmouth (Cornwall) where he volunteered for front of house and technical work on the presentation of Rider Spoke at Falmouth University in March 2011. Following this he applied for an internship and spent two months with the company where he worked on several projects and was also an amazing BBQ chef for our 20th birthday party.

About Lukus

I am a third year BA hons Theatre and Digital Arts student from Bristol studying at Dartington/Falmouth University. I started my artistic career devising and modelling site specific performances at Dartington College of Arts. During my time at University I have become involved with Improvisation, Devising, Site-specific Theatre; Stop motion animation, Directing and Immersive Theatre. I have recently started developing my work using Live Performance with Digital Media to enable a uniquely immersive approach to interactive learning and Performance.

I am currently undertaking a CEP (Contextual Enquiry Project) as part of my university course; My CEP will be based in Bristol to develop A-Maze an interactive maze using Pervasive Media with Live Performance and Can You Talk Yet an exploration of site using immersive theatre with sensor triggered wireless headphone technology.

The Internship

During my time at Blast Theory I was welcomed as part of the team and shown many important aspects of working for an established artistic company. Becoming hands on with a variety of tasks was a key bonus to my internship; I was given the opportunity to work along side production managers, administrators and the artists. Working as a location scout for A Machine to See With in Brighton was one of my favourite tasks, this included mapping the car parks, back alleys, bars, restaurants, pubs and even toilets of Brighton. I was also involved with costume design for Friendly Nightshade at Glastonbury as well as catering for Blast Theory’s amazing 20th birthday party. I feel I have also gained priceless experience about the business side of the arts; getting involved with budgeting, purchasing, administration, marketing and archiving. Following this I was able to arrange one to one meetings to help with realisation on my own artistic career. I now feel extremely confident about taking on larger scale project that will enable me to become a professional artist in the near future.

Audiences from all over the world want and need new experiences within the arts and I feel Blast Theory have played a major role in the last 20 years to deliver versatile and sustainable projects, Thank you for letting me into your world and your Family.

More information on Lukus' practice here.

Whilst studying for an MA at Goldsmiths in 2010, Emilie Giles attended a Guest Lecture by Blast Theory Executive Producer Julianne Pierce. Following the talk Emilie got in touch with Blast Theory and applied for an internship in early 2011. Emilie stays in contact with the Blast Theory team and we continue to provide ongoing mentoring and career advice.

About Emilie

Emilie Giles is an alumnus of MA Interactive Media: Critical Theory and Practice at Goldsmiths College. Since graduating her time has been spent co-organising MzTEK, a nonprofit collective with the aim of encouraging women to learn skills in the field of arts and technology and working for social video advertising gurus Unruly, curating and co-ordinating their events.

She is currently involved with TESTIMONIES, a project which explores oral history through social media in relation to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is also facilitating workshops at Furtherfield Gallery for the Embroidered Digital Commons with Ele Carpenter.

Emilie's own practice revolves around notions of pervasive gaming linked with urban exploration and psychogeography. Her work is largely experimental, focusing on the methodology of creating rather than on the finished piece. Recent work includes Emotional Geocaching - a piece which looks at our emotional reaction to our surroundings, whilst embarking on aimless wonders, Lost London - a pervasive experience with a psychogeographical twist which invites participants to go in search of London’s network of disused tube stations and Ace of Spades Hunt  - a treasure hunt which explores issues around blood diamond mining.

In her spare time Emilie enjoys nothing better than running (or shuffling) around Hampstead Heath with her chums from Fire Hazard, pretending to be in the zombie apocalypse.

The Internship

Every since my BA I have been fascinated by Blast Theory's work. To spend two months with an artist group who inspires you so much is such a pleasure as you get a real insight into the inner workings of their practice.

My main task during the internship was to work on the visual interface of Riders Have Spoken, an audio archive of Rider Spoke. Being given this level of responsibility was both slightly terrifying but also amazing because as well as testing my creative skills to the max, it also gave me the opportunity to build on my confidence in a very real way, not something which a lot of internships allow you to do. My other area of focus was press and marketing. I was responsible for sending out a lot of the press for A Machine To See With when it premiered at Sundance Festival. As a result of me contacting him, the Guardian’s Keith Stuart wrote a very positive article about the piece, complimenting Blast Theory as being ‘agenda setters’ in the area of location-based urban gaming.

Sitting in on meetings with Matt, Ju and Nick was one of my favourite things as it was fascinating to see how they work together on a professional level. This helped me to re-evaluate the way in which I collaborate with others on creative projects and how to approach my own practice in a more professional way.

The best bit about the internship by far was experiencing the sense of camaraderie which is felt within Blast Theory. I'm so grateful I took the time to embark on the internship; it's the sort of experience which I think always stays with you and is invaluable on a personal as well as professional level.