Newseum

Connected to the world

Summary

The installation focuses on the topic of information access and demonstrates the big differences between rich and so-called developing countries on the issue of media coverage and access to the internet.

The main task of the media is to give people information and to present them with different points of view so that they can form their own opinions on certain events. The way that the news is presented influences people’s opinions. However, the media often presents normal events in a shocking and sensationalistic way through the use of stereotypes, celebrities and misleading interpretations of events.

The global media tends to focus on the topics, values and problems of the Western world, leaving the “rest” of the planet underrepresented. This obscures the need to identify and solve problems that would have a positive impact on the whole planet.

Details

The installation consists of six short videos placed in frames on the wall.
The videos are accompanied by an interactive map showing internet coverage in different areas of the world. By pressing the button corresponding to a particular country, the map displays levels of media coverage and internet access. The map demonstrates the differences between rich and so-called developing countries. In many developing countries, the internet is accessible only in certain areas and often for only a few hours per day or else only in designated places serving many people from a large catchment area. In many locations without electricity, the situation is even more complicated.
The famous artist Tamara Moyzes selected six key media events and presented these news videos in frames on the wall, as an example of media reality. She focuses her attention on how the media interprets events and how news is presented to viewers. Another aspect is the fact that she presents these media stories through an alternative medium. Using the museum as a media channel provides a stable way to present the past. This places everything in a different context.
The six video news stories deal with very different topics, but they all share a similar approach in that they are less concerned with the actual news content than trying to grab people’s attention by presenting the news in a sensationalistic manner.
Each framed video is accompanied by an article from an internet news channel covering the same event or topic. In addition, there is a translation of the video.
Each video is introduced by a quote from a personality with a philosophical or other intellectual background. This places the news in its broader context.
The installation is connected mostly to Millennium Development Goal 8 (“Global partnership for development”). It shows the way the media often overlooks so-called developing countries and presents a distorted picture of the planet as a whole.

The inauguration of the installation

An information panel introduces the topic

Budget + resources

Budget needed:

Preparation of the installation	837€
Preparation of the videos	577€
Translation into English	11€
Corrections	23€
Printing the banner	77€
Other printing	46€
Material for the installation	325€
Total	1895€

How to do it step by step

1st Step:

Choosing the topic

Tamara Moyzes is a famous artist who has been interested in this topic for many years. She inspired us to create this installation.

2nd Step:

Negotiations with the artist

We started negotiations with Tamara Moyzes over her vision. The first idea was that Tamara Moyzes’ exhibition would be displayed in the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague. After several meetings, it transpired that the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art could only host the exhibition for two months. That finally led us to install there another exhibition, which was prepared at the same time. All this slowed down the negotiations.

The subsequent negotiations were quite long and difficult, since we were searching for a suitable museum to host the project in its chosen form. Finally, we agreed on the installation content. This process took us around seven months to complete.

***3rd* *Step:***

Looking for a new partner

A new opportunity arose during negotiations with the Municipal Museum in Usti nad Labem. Representatives from the museum and the local authorities agreed to cooperate with the Museo Mundial Project and to host some installations in their museum. This process took us about two months to complete.

4th Step:

Finalising the installation concept

Based on these negotiations, we visited the museum together with the artist. We carried out research for the accompanying texts and the interactive table, arranged for the videos to be translated and prepared frames to display them.

After that, the artist started work on the objects that would constitute the project, which she successfully completed. This process took us about five weeks to complete.

5th Step:

Interactive map

We decided to finish off the installation by adding an interactive map displaying internet coverage in different countries across the world. The map was made and installed on the tablet by another artist, Shlomi Yaffe, who is Tamara Moyzes’ husband and who also works closely with her.

6th Step:

Installing in the museum

Shlomi Yaffe installed the installation in the museum in cooperation with the museum’s employees.

The two installations, Gifts of the Sea and NEWSeum, were installed together in the same room of the Municipal Museum of Usti nad Labem. The exhibition’s inauguration, accompanied by a performance from Tamara Moyzes, took place on 10 December 2014.

Evaluation

Ups and Downs

Ups

The originality of the installation, which was created in collaboration with an artist interested in development issues.
The interactive elements and the artistic aspect make the installation more interesting.

Downs

The protracted negotiations over the installation’s concept, which resulted in a sort of compromise.
The map of the world soon broke, due to a change of plan during the preparatory phase over where to place this installation.