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The Red Umbrella March:
Crafting a living activist archive
A collaborative project by
A Project Report by:
Angelika Strohmayer, Janis Meissner, Sarah Charlton
Abstract of
project and
thank yous
Intro to pro-
ject
Thank You!
We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped
organise and took part in the rst Red Umbrella march and the service that followed this in
Newcastle on December 15th 2016. We also want to thank everyone who decorated a red
umbrella and those who shared a message with us. A special thank you goes out to Sarah,
without whom this activity could not have taken place. Also, thank you to Zander for building
JigsAudio and letting us use it for this activity.
Part of this project was funded through the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital
Civics (EP/L016176/1).
Abstract
December 17th marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.
Historically, on this day sex workers carry red umbrellas and march through the streets of
large cities to ght for their rights, reduce stigma, and to make their presence visible in a
city. In 2016 Changing Lives organised the rst of these marches in Newcastle upon Tyne.
We joined sex workers, support workers, police, and other supporters on this march as
well as the remembrance service that took place afterwards. Through ethno-mimesis, we
recorded our experiences of the march and subsequent service, focusing on the use of digital
technologies. Between the march and the service, we also encouraged attendants to partake
in our ‘red umbrellas’ activity. Here we used the open source JigsAudio tool to begin to craft
a living activist archive of Newcastle’s experiences on the International Day to End Violence
Against Sex Workers.
With this activity, we have supported Changing Lives service delivery, while simultaneously
developing a digital archive of sex worker voices. To our knowledge, this is the rst time
that experiences of those marching to end violence against sex workers are archived in this
format. We archive the voices in a hybrid craft where playful crafting is mixed with tangible
technologies to develop a space where the archive is manifested not only through the digital
audio recording of voices, but also through the tangible crafted artefact.
Introduction
In 2016 Changing Lives organised the rst Red Umbrella March to mark International Day to
End Violence Against Sex Workers (IDEVASW). Since we had been working with some of the
service users and members of sta in dierent ways already, we heard about this exciting
event early on in the organisational phase. We take an activist stance in our research, so we
wanted to support the organisation in whatever way we could in the organisation of this day,
and from conversations around this the idea of the building of an archive started to emerge.
The imagery used in this project stems from the imagery used by sex workers to mark this
important day in the sex worker calendar: red umbrellas.
The aims of the project were to understand the ways in which Changing Lives sta, service
users, and supporters interact with digital technologies on this important day, and to develop
implications for future technologies to be used by Changing Lives (and others) on IDEVASW
in the future. We did this through exploratory research practice as well as the trialing of a
novel digital technology that developed out of existing collaborations with Changing Lives.
As we were discussing potential projects we could collaborate on, we mentioned that Open
Lab had developed an easy to use tool to record experiences of an event through tangible
artefacts. Combining this technology with our own creative research methods, and changing
lives’ service user-led and person centred initiatives we developed the idea of our activity.
Fitting with the day, we laser cut thin wood into umbrellas and collected a variety of dierent
craft materials in dierent shades of red. These materials were then used to decorate the
umbrella, and with the help of a technology called JigsAudio (see pg x), we started to create a
living activist archive of IDEVASW.
The methods we used in this project are based on ideas of O’Neill’s ethno-mimesis (O’Neill
et al. 2006; O’Neill & Hubbard 2010) and research through design (Zimmerman et al. 2007).
In this way, the focus is on ethnographic eld notes, experiential walking, and researcher
reections. We make use of pictures that were taken on the day, researcher eld notes that
are based on our own experiences as well as conversations with sta and service users,
as well as an audio-recorded 1.5 hour reection of Janis and Angelika. This recording took
place after the event had nished and we had come back to the research lab to reect
on the day. This recording was then transcribed and analysed in relation to the sections
outlined in this report. All direct quotes from the research seen in this report stem from this
transcribed reection. Since Annie Sprinkle, one of the founders of IDEVASW, describes the
day as “always a deeply moving experience” (Sprinkle n.d.) we entered the space carefully,
respectfully, and as supporters. We do not want to infringe on the space and do not want to
‘research’ sex workers who engage with it. Because of this, we do not use the recordings of
the archive as part of our data, and instead focused on the ways in which digital technologies
are used to support the reexive, personal, and collective remembrance of the day.
In this report, we provide a brief overview of the importance of and symbolism used in this
day before delving into the use of digital technologies during the march in Newcastle. We
describe the march and multi-media service to remember those who have been lost before
providing an overview of the activity we carried out. Then, we provide instructions on how the
beginnings of the living activist archive were crafted before reecting on the ways in which
this could be reproduced, focusing on which elements were particularly important. We end
the report with implications for designs of potential technologies to support IDEVASW.
The red Umbrella
December 17th marks International Day to End Violence Against Sex
Workers. The day was initiated by Annie Sprinkle and her colleagues
at the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA), an American
sex worker rights organisation, in 2003 as a response to the Green
River Killer. Gary Ridgeway confessed to having murdered 90
women in the Seattle, US area over 27 years. In a public letter, Annie
Sprinkle writes: “When Ridgeway was nally caught, I felt a need to
memorialize my whore sisters that had died so horribly and needlessly.
I cared, and I knew other people cared too. So I got together with
Robyn Few, Founder of the Sex Worker Outreach Project, and SWOP
members Stacey Swimme and Michael Fowley, and we claimed Dec.
17th as the International Day to End violence Against Sex Workers.”
(Sprinkle n.d.).
Sex workers, allies, charities, and others have worked across the
globe to organise events on IDEVASW for the last 13 years. And in
2016, Newcastle joined the growing number of cities and towns that
carry out public events. Changing Lives opted to host a public red
umbrella march and semi-public vigil to remember those who have
been lost in the last year.
The Red Umbrella is a symbol of resistance to discrimination for sex
workers. It was recogenised as such by the International Committee
on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) in 2005, but was
allegedly rst introduced in Venice, Italy in 2001. It was used by Tadej
Pogacar, a Slovenian artist who collaborated with sex workers, to
create the “Prostitute Pavillion” and CODE: RED art installation at the
49th Venice Biennale of Art. As part of this installation, sex workers
marched along the geography of the social history of sex workers,
using red umbrellas and megaphones to draw attention to the bad
working conditions and human rights abuses they face (International
Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) 2015).
The ICRSE explains the choice of symbolism in a blog post on their
website: “Red is a color of beauty and an umbrella is the resistance
to sky’s and humans’ attacks. It symbolizes protection from the
abuse and discrimination faced by sex workers everywhere but it is
also a symbol of our strength. Continuing this tradition and in honour
of all sex workers who dare to resist oppression everywhere, the
ICRSE adopts the red umbrella as a symbol of sex worker rights.”
(International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe
(ICRSE) 2015)
At the end of this same blog post, the ICRSE asks us to share the
imagery of the red umbrella publically, and in her public letter, Sprinkle
calls on us all to “Start organizing now!” (Sprinkle n.d.) because we will
be glad if we do, signing o “In whore pride solidarity” (ibid.).
Ten ways to participate in idtevasw by Annie Sprinkle
1. Organize a vigil/memorial/gathering in your town. Simply choose a place and time. Invite
people to bring their stories, writings, thoughts, related news items, poems, lists of victims,
performances, and memories. Take turns sharing.
2. Organize or attend a candlelight vigil in a public place.
3. Do something at home alone which has personal meaning, such as a memorial bath, or light
a candle.
4. Call a friend and discuss the topic.
5. Send a donation to a group that helps sex workers stay safer. Some teach self-defense or
host web sites that caution workers about bad Johns. Donate to Sex Worker Outreach Project.
6. Read the Sex Workers Outreach Project www.swopusa.org, Do let others know about any
planned Dec. 17 events by listing them on the site
7. Spread the word about the Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers and the issues it
raises; blog, email, send a press release, forward this text to others.
8. Attend a Dec. 17th Day to End Violence event/action/memorial. Everyone is welcome.
9. Organize a panel discussion about violence towards sex workers. Procure a community
space and invite speakers like sex workers, police, and families of victims.
10. Create your own way to participate. People have done celebrations, Xmas caroling,
protests at jails, lobbying at City Halls, naked women reading whore writings, performance art,
visual art projects, and other creative, fun and moving things.
The rest of her public letter can be found here: http://www.december17.org/about/from-annie-
sprinkle/
Describing the march
Changing Lives service users, sta, and volunteers, as well as Northumbria Police worked
together to organise Newcastle’s rst Red Umbrella March in December 2016. This was a client
led initiative to show pride in doing sex work, but also to remember those who have been lost
throughout the years due to dierent forms of violence. Here, we describe the day, focusing on
the use of digital technologies throughout the build-up to, and the march itself.
As part of our reection, we drew the path that was taken on the map to the right. The two
dierent colours represent dierent stages of the march: the pink represents the path taken
before the march itself started, and the purple line represents the path taken on the march
itself. The circle with the cross in it represents the church in which we met before the march,
but it is also the place where the service after the march took place. The triangle that is
outlined in purple and coloured in with pink is the location where we congregated before the
march and waited for others to join us before it started. It was here that police ocers joined
the march and that a journalist from a local radio station interviewed some of the marchers.
Meeting Up Before The March
The initial meeting point we had decided on was Bunswick Church. There we met some
members of sta from Changing Lives, but nobody we knew yet. We were able to leave the
wooden umbrellas and red materials for our activity here before heading to Monument to meet
the rest of the team from Changing Lives who will be marching. It was here that we waited for
Sarah, the member of sta from Changing Lives we knew best at this time. While there, mobile
phones were used both by sta and service users to communicate with others either through
phone calls or sms. Questions like ‘when is x going to arrive?’ and ‘is y going to join us too?’
were common, and were often answered after a look at a phone screen. We also saw that
members of sta and service users were standing together, but slightly apart, hugging each
other upon arrival, making it clear that the relationships that are built through service delivery
are more than traditional case work; that they are relationships between people, bringing to life
the people-centred approach that Changing Lives promotes through their website.
Based on our reection, we were all “standing in a big circle and not everyone knew each
other, [but] some demonstrated a, like, a very closeness. I mean, just the way, for example
some people greeted each other […it was…] visualising like ‘oh we’re close!’”. Researcher A
added to this: “it’s a very kind of friendly and inclusive space, I think!”
After a small group had collected next to the Metro station at Monument, umbrellas and pins
were handed out for people to hold onto until the march itself started. “We were standing there
and we were just holding the umbrellas and meeting some of the other people and there was
more handing out of umbrellas and more handing out of the buttons.” Once everyone that was
expected had arrived we started to walk towards Northumberland street, very quickly walking
up towards the civic centre. We stopped walking again at the top of Northumberland street
where St Mary’s Place and the Great North Road meet.
“This whole gathering in front of the statue and how people were positioning themselves. In
some ways it was almost like a little mini-protest in itself through togetherness. Everyone is
assembled in this kind of mini-square where a lot of people have to go through. And I think
it actually got a little bit of an extra mini-protest for some individuals being rather on the side
where a lot of people have to squeeze themselves through. They way how they were handing
out the information yer with the pins was almost like a little bit provocative. Like: ‘Here you go!
You need to take this!’ but it was only happening because they were there in their small group
surrounded by the big group.”
It was also at this point that a journalist from a local
radio station as well as police ocers met us. The
journalist “kept really in the background […] he
had his audio recorder with him, but uhm, he kept
rather in the background.” But we saw him interview
some of the people marching while walking down
Northumberland street.
The police ocers were more integrated into the
march: “I liked how the police was even putting on the
pins and also taking some pins to hand out and really
take part of it. Okay, they were standing a little bit on
the side, but they were denitely a supportive part of
it.” The march itself was led by a police woman. They
were also the only ones’ who’s faces were seen on the
group picture that was taken at the beginning of the
march.
Starting The March
After we had gathered, pins and umbrellas had
been handed out, and everyone had said hello to
one another we needed “a little bit of this kind of
‘ocialness’ in some way” to say that the march
would start. This was done through the use of a
mundane technology: photography.
At a certain point, the following occurred: “there was
like ‘okay, now we are going to take this group photo
with the umbrellas covering our faces so nobody can
be recognised.’ And taking this group photo before
the march starts but at the same time, this served
also as an ocial starting point. So that was actually
quite a smart way of actually getting the group really
moving.” Taking this kind of picture, one of people
holding red umbrellas in front of their faces, is a
common occurrence at other red umbrella marches
across the globe. In this particular case however,
it also functioned as a catalyst for the march that
simultaneously created an air of ociality for those
taking part. While there was only a minimal use of
digital technologies during the march itself, but the
“trigger for ‘okay, now we’re all together, let’s start.
Let’s get going’ that that was triggered by a camera; a
really mundane technology.”
The March Itself
After the picture was taken, we began walking down
Northumberland street, raising the red umbrellas
high as we walked. The path of the march took us
down Northumberland Street, and then down a side
street towards the church we initially met Changing
Lives sta. It was during this march, that it became
clear that this march was something that the service users had helped organise: “on the march
it ended up actually being very client lead, which I thought was really nice and it was a nice
combination of everything.” The march was attended by service users, sta, and volunteers
from Changing Lives, as well as sta from other connected organisations, police ocers, and
ourselves as advocates for sex worker rights as well as research collaborators of Changing Lives.
As we were walking, perhaps uncommonly, dierent people were walking at dierent speeds. At
this particular march however, the dierent speeds were very apparent: “the front was walking
quite quickly, and then there were some people in the middle and I think where we were [in
the middle but towards the back] it was like: ‘Oh they’re going really quick, we should slow it
down’ and then in the back they were walking really slowly.” It aected the ways in which the
marchers interacted with the surroundings, and the ways in which others walking up and down
Northumberland Street interacted with those on the march: “I think those in the back were also
doing a little bit more of the information work, because people see them in the front, and then we
come slower so we seem to be more approachable in the back.”
Technologies On The March
While it seemed like the only use of digital technology was everyday and private use of mobile
phones and smartphones, two other technologies was particularly important during the march: (1)
the red umbrellas; and (2) the pins that were attached to a piece of card with information about
sex work and the 17th of December.
The red umbrellas were used for the same reason as during the ‘Prostitutes Pavillion’
(International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) 2015) in in Venice in
2001: to bring attention to the march. Since the march took place on a busy December Friday, the
umbrellas brought about much attention in the shape of looks as well as questions and started
conversations from passers-by: “People were handing out the pins and explaining and there were
people who came up and asked.” To further stimulate conversations, many of us on the march
carried pins (mostly people who were not holding umbrellas, but some people held umbrellas and
had pins) that were handed out in a similar manner as yers would be handed out at other activist
marches. Based on our experience: “the awareness raising actually worked quite well. Some
[passers-by] were really eager to nd out.”
While the umbrellas were a useful tool for getting attention, it is unclear whether passers-by
understood what they were about. While it is a very well known international symbol for sex
worker rights in communities associated with sex work, those who do not know much about the
ght for sex worker rights are not aware of this symbolism. This was made clear through some of
the interactions we had with passers-by on the march: “there were also a couple of people that
you, like, many just realised when they got the yer and then read the capitalised ‘Sex Work and
Sexual Exploitation’ where they were like ‘Oh, Okay! But it’s a pin, so that’s nice’.” It was also
through the interaction that it became clear that having not only the yer but also the pin attached
to it was very important: “I think it was quite good that they had the pin on it as well as a little
gimmick, because that probably makes a couple of people that would shy away otherwise, you
know still keep the set of the pin and the paper.”
The march ended as we walked down the side alley towards the church at which the service was
held. Due to the many dierent speeds and the spread out nature of the march, everyone walked
down the side street at dierent times, many starting to close and pack away the umbrellas as
they did so. It was here that “one of the sta members said actually: ‘oh it would be nice to have
a group photo again in front of the church’ but then half of them were already in” the church.
A Multi-media service to remember those we have lost
Technologies of the march:
- photo as catalyst of march
- nothing else on march
- multimedia church (music, ppt, projector, red umbrellas activity)
names of those who have been lost
angels (to write something for someone else)
candles (lighting a candle for self or someone else)
red umbrella activity
poems read out by service users
a song was supposed to be performed by one of the service users, but she was unable to attned
and perform
Crafting A living activist archive for IDEVASW
Once inside the church, we had roughly half an hour to spend before the service was
scheduled to start which resulted in a spontaneous change in schedule of the day: instead of
doing the ‘red umbrellas’ activity after the service, we used the 30 minutes or so to use the
activity as a bridge between the march and the multi-media service: “we ended up doing it
before the service and had a really slow start. I think there were like one or two women there
and then suddenly there was loads of people that wanted to do it”.
We used an open-source technology to begin to build a living activist archive of Newcastle’s
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. We will describe the use of the tool,
as well as our activity in the section titled ‘Interactive Red Umbrellas’ on pg. x, rather here, we
want to discuss what we mean with a living activist archive.
Describing it in this way, we place an importance on the unnished nature of this project. While
the day has nished, and we are writing this report as a kind of ‘nishing’ of the project, it will
continue to live on. This report illustrates the activities that took place in December 2016, the
rst red umbrella marche in Newcastle as well as rst iteration of the archive, but this is only a
part of the story. In 2017 (and hopefully also years to come after that), the march will take place
again, and hopefully so will the red umbrella activity to continue to contribute to the archive
of experiences and voices. Due to this nature, the archive is not only something for others to
explore, but where the process of its production in and of itself becomes a materiality of the
(un)nished product.
To dene the term activist archive we make use of two particular pieces of work: Ferris
and Allard’s sex work database (Ferris & Allard 2016) and Harris’ account of archives and
archivists in the context of South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy (Harris 2002).
Activist archives embrace and emphasize that archives are socially constructed spaces of
struggle over meaning-making (Ferris & Allard 2016) and a “crucible of human experience, a
battleground for meaning and signicance, a babel of stories, a place and a space of complex
and ever-shifting power-plays” (Harris 2002, pg. 85). Particularly when placing an archive
in a justice-oriented ecology, they can be a tool to operationalize “particular social justice
objectives” (Ferris & Allard 2016, pg.192). With this we mean that we hope to use the collection
of stories as a tool for advocacy, for power-shifts in expression of thought.
Since this activity was placed in a context of ‘service delivery’ of the charity, we forefront the
voices of sex workers and other GAP/MAP clients. Similar to Ferris and Allard’s sex work
database, we see the umbrellas, recordings, and the website that was subsequently created
as a translation of our activist intentions into tangible manifestations that are useful for service
delivery (the production of these artefacts, and the potential use of these artefacts for personal
reection), but that can simultaneously be used as tools for advocacy through exhibition(s).
In this way then, the red umbrellas, their use, and the ways in which non-digital craft, tangible
digital interaction, and web-technologies work together the archive is a type of hybrid archive.
Crafting our Living activist archive
The Red Umbrellas activity was developed in collaboration between Changing Lives sta and
us as researchers. It incorporated elements of digital technologies as well as crafting. We
had been working alongside some of the Changing Lives sta for roughly half a year before
this day to get an understanding of the ways in which the organisation functions, what kinds
of activities they incorporate in their service delivery, and to get to know some of the service
users prior to this day. Based on this exploratory work, we designed a creative activity that
would allow for individual introspection, while also providing a space for exchange and support
among those working on the activity at the same time: “it was still quite a low barrier to get
engaged for people who were doing it. […] they found it kind f natural to do [the activity] and
I think that’s also really because of the [existing service delivery]. They could really relate to it,
and I think they had a very positive impression of it”. Carrying on from this reection, we also
compared this activity to some of the activities we had heard about or witnessed ourselves
from previous Changing Lives service delivery: “If you look at the photos from the workshops
as well, a lot of them are about card making, crafting, or something like that. And I think that’s
kind of why we chose that activity as well, because the whole technology was previously just
used with writing on it, or drawing on it, and I specically chose not to do that because I knew
of that history of [service delivery] and the making.”
Prior to the day, we borrowed one of our colleagues JigsAudio tool (an open-source digital tool
that allows one to record an audio message that is digitally linked to a tangible artefact using
RfID technologies). We laser cut umbrella shapes out of 3mm plywood and placed an RfID
sticker on the back of each of these. Then, we collected various craft supplies and pens in
dierent shades of red to decorate the wooden umbrellas.
In the church, we placed the supplies on a small table close to the entrance and set up the
cardboard JigsAudio tool in a small nook next to this table. We used this little nook to create a
little bit of privacy for those wishing to record an audio message to their crafted umbrella. We
increased the privacy of the corner by placing a piece of fabric as a curtain to cover the area.
Furthermore, we used red and white twine as a pop-up exhibition space in the private nook
to display the nished umbrellas. In the little nook, this is what participants did: they placed
the umbrella on top of the cardboard box. To start the recording, they pressed a button on the
cardboard JigsAudio. Once the recording is nished, they pressed the button again to stop the
recording. Then they hung the umbrella on the twine next to the other nished umbrellas.
All in all, we collected 15 decorated umbrellas; these were all decorated by women who
either provide or use services the GAP project provides. Not all of these umbrellas have audio
recording associated with them, and some have multiple recordings.
The crafting of the umbrellas took place in a very small space with little opportunity for sitting
down other then a few small steps. Despite this less than ideal space, people used the activity
as a time to calm down in silent making. It was only after some of the members of sta also
joined the activity that it became “far more chatty.”
This mix of introspection and chatting resulted in umbrellas that care had gone into. They were
not something that people ‘just made’ but rather they are artefacts that thought and care had
gone into: “there was a lot of the more sophisticated looking things [more artistic than crafty
materials such as paint and paintbrushes, for example]. You know, they could have just taken
like a brush and acrylic paint and it would have been done in like two seconds, like just smear
it over and ‘here we go!’ But no, they wanted to have the glitter gluing up there, they wanted
to have the little owers in very even spaces between it. And it was not just he bow being
attached on it, on the right, the exactly the right place, they also had to have like little owers
o n them as well” A particular instance of this, was when a woman wanted to do an umbrella
and hang it directly next to the one her daughter had made. As she went to hang it up, one of
the roses that was glued onto the umbrella that was already hanging in the makeshift exhibition
space had “slightly fallen o and was stuck to the glitter rather than the place it was supposed
to be. And we went and xed it right away, because it needed to be perfect.”
On top of this care, some of the women who made umbrellas also wanted the umbrellas to be
perfect: “I think the one who gave up was actually, she wanted to make a heart-shaped glitter
thing and the glue didn’t stick equally, so, after she saw like ‘oh my god! This doesn’t look like
a heart at all!’ and just like ‘no’. So there was a lot of perfectionism.”
Based on the care and perfectionism involved in the creation of the living archive, we believe
that those who took part in the activity “denitely produced something that has some kind
of value and can’t just be some quick something. It is, they denitely created some kind of
meaning in it. It’s just hard, I don’t think that, maybe the recording is not the right way to really
get this kind of meaning out of it.”
Step 3: display the
umbrellas that have
embedded recordings
Step 1: decorate the
wooden umbrellas
with red craft supplies
Step 2: record an audio
clip to the umbrella
using JigsAudio
Step 4: link pictures of
the umbrellas and the
embedded audio les
up via the JigsAudio
website
Conclusions: designing technologies for IDEVASW
While the march did not use many digital technologies, and the red umbrella archive built
on existing technologies, the most surprising use of digital technology took place during the
service. This was a multi-media experience that incorporated various dierent digital and non-
digital technologies in a “a smart church” to structure an interactive, service user-led, people-
centred, remembrance service for the lives of service users from GAP and MAP who had been
lost in the last year. This service was made up of poetry readings, sharing of stories, a (sadly
cancelled) musical performance, and three activities dedicated directly to remembrance.
Throughout the day, there was a back-and-forth between the ways in which the activities
throughout the day were curated: “there was an interesting dynamic of now, is this now a
march really for the outside, public awareness raising, or is it more like, a gathering or an event
that happens in the outside but is actually more for strengthening the inside?”
While the march was “down a busy Northumberland Street, [so] it was for awareness, [but]
I think it was with the combination of ‘you know what no, I’m going to do this, I’m going to
do this walk!’ but also to show others”, the service was clearly an activity that was meant for
those who were present. While it may make sense that the march was an activity that focused
the importance on those ‘outside’ the organisation, it was also something that was created
for those ‘inside’ the organisation. Not only was this a sentiment that we as researchers felt
throughout the day, but it was also something that the priest mentioned towards the beginning
of the service: “you’ve been out, you’ve done the thing for outside, you’ve raised awareness.
You’ve shown people what you’ve done, but now this is for us. And this is for the community,
and for togetherness, and for you as an individual.” Following this, she also shared the
following sentiment: ‘I don’t know if you’ve been here before, but if you haven’t you’re welcome
here’.
Not only did the red umbrella activity make use of digital technologies, but the “smart church”
itself had a multimedia suite:
A: “at the back there was a projector and a woman sitting on a laptop that had all the slide
shows and videos and music on it.”
B: “no, the music was coming from the priest’s smartphone! because she was turning down
the music manually with her smartphone”
Activities for Remembrance
Throughout the service, dierent kinds of pop music were played through speakers: “Robbie
Williams played a lot, but I thought it was nice to have that. And I thought it added a dierent
layer to the whole service.” For us researchers, this took away the feeling that we were in ‘a
church’ while adding to the introspection and remembrance that was the focus of the day.
This was particularly useful but also clear in the three activities that were particularly focused
on remembrance: (1) the lighting of candles; (2) the angel activity; and (3) the displaying of the
names on a slideshow.
Attendants of the service were invited to light a candle and place it at the front of the line
of chairs in remembrance of someone who had been lost in the last year, or as a symbol of
remembrance for themselves. All attendants (police, sta, volunteers, service users) helped
each other out in handing out the small candles. Then people started to get up and move
towards the front of the church where someone was stood with some lighters. The candles
were lit and carefully placed on the oor in the shape of a heart.
Another activity that was carried out for remembrance was one that we call the ‘Angel Activity’
in this report. Attendants were given a piece of paper that, when folded and cut in a certain
way, turned into an angel. They were encouraged to write a message to someone they were
thinking about onto this piece of paper, shape it into an angel and to then, one-by-one, hang
this up on the Christmas tree that was placed at the front of the church. From looking at
the Christmas tree, it was clear that this was an activity that the priest had carried out with
others before as the church “already had some on the tree.” Bringing this example back to
the discussion we had earlier that asked whether the day was an activity that was made
for those ‘inside’ the charity or for others ‘outside’ the organisation to learn more about the
day, we see that this is a complex and multi-layered discussion that can be explored further.
This quiet, introspective activity was one that was made for ‘inside’; for the individuals who
were present at the service. Hanging these up publicly on a Christmas tree where others had
already shared these messages however also brings this activity into the realm of ‘outside’ the
charity metaphorically (in sharing a thought with someone who may never see it) and visually
(in placing it on the Christmas tree alongside angels of others they do not know and, again,
may never meet). Witnessing this activity and feeling the air in the room at the time, we as
researchers reected on this activity: “it denitely served it’s purpose: there were a lot of tears.
Very silently, but they were there. And I think it was quite impressive to see how many people
really had a message for someone to write on the paper angel to then hang it up.”
The third activity that was directed at remembrance was a very quiet one. Unlike the others,
this one did not contain an element of moving or creative output. Instead, this activity was a
way of commemorating all those who had died in the last year directly. The multi-media suite
of the church was used to share a slideshow of names of people who had been lost in the last
year. Contrary to the previous audio-cues for introspection through music or readings, “they
commemorated all the people that had died this year, it was nice to not hear the names being
said out, but to just have some nice music and to look at the screen where they just appeared:
white writing on black screen, just the names of people. I thought that added a quite dierent
perspective to it.”
At the end of the day, after the service, our activity, and the food an drinks reception that
followed these were over, we had the chance to chat with the priest. As we were cleaning up
the glitter and feathers from the red umbrella activity, she came over to nd out more about
what we had done. It was here that she told us that this was the rst time she had lead this
service. While the church was known to Changing Lives sta and service users, she did not
know exactly what to expect from the day; which is why she welcomed everyone so dearly at
the beginning and the end of the service where she shared a brief prayer (the rest of the service
had been very non-religious despite being held in a church) with which she shared the following
sentiment: “okay, you can take it as if you want to” The two researchers also reected on this
topic, as can be seen in the exchange below:
A: “I think it’s a collaboration that’s been going on for years, because everyone knew where
they had to go once they got in the building”
B: “and also the pictures from last year they had a lot of pictures from in the church, actually,
so it seemed like last year’s Christmas party or something like that”
A: “I think everybody kind of knew the space, and the space knows them”
A Multi-MEdia Service for remembrance
Throughout the day technologies were used in dierent formats and to dierent ends. Above,
we have described the ways in which digital technologies were used throughout the rst
red umbrella march in Newcastle. In this report, we have reected on the ways in which
these dierent digital and non-digital technologies were used before and during the march,
as well as the ways in which they were integrated into the service that followed. To create a
reexive and introspective bridge between the activist activities on the march and the multi-
media remembrance activities, we crafted a living activist archive. Technologies had dierent
functions for individuals and Changing Lives as a charity based on the events that happened
on this day, as well as the meaning of this day as a whole: they were catalysts, agents for
layering experiences, and were able to support reection and retrospection.
Conclusions
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