BSU at Glastonbury

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Creative Computing Rocks Glastonbury

As Worthy Farm settles after a packed few day of festivities, we’re rejoicing as our Creative Computing team return following an outstanding few days at Glastonbury Festival. Based in Bath School of Design, members of the Creative Computing team, led by Dr Coral Manton, have been working with Shangri-La for the last three years building creative technology venues and installations – including a virtual reality venue in a shipping container commissioned by Lost Horizon and in collaboration with Studio Resident Naomi Symth in 2022 – who has been designing performance experiences for the festival since 2010.

This year Creative Computing’s Coral Manton, Dave Webb, Sam Sturtivant, Nigel Fryatt and Sam Kaighin developed two Creative Technology installations - Data Dealers and The Fulfilment Centre. They were joined by The Studio and MyWorld’s Rachel Pownall and Nik Rawlings, led by Naomi Smyth, who designed performances around the venues alongside their own venue – The Influenzoo. Together the teams have extensive experience in live performance and creative tech, and they took on the hugely popular festival again to share installations powered by the integration of technology, performance, and storytelling.

Over the past three years, the Creative Computing installations have utilised a diverse range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, physical computing, and creative coding, to create playful encounters that encourage critical reflections around the impact of technology on society. This year, through the collaboration with Naomi and The Studio, the work also incorporated interactive performance, allowing audiences to experience the installations through the added dimension of theatre and storytelling.

The fusion of technology and performance crafted a unique space for festivalgoers to engage with complex ideas in a creative and accessible manner, fostering both curiosity and thoughtful conversation.

The installations at this year’s festival included:  

Designed by Coral Manton and developed with Dave Webb, Sam Sturtivant, Nigel Fryatt and Sam Kaighin:

• ‘Data Dealers’ is an installation that critiques the commodification of personal data in the digital age. It presents a dystopian marketplace where personal information, biometrics, and even innermost thoughts are traded like commodities. The aim of the installation is to get more people considering the importance of data privacy and control of personal information.  

• ‘The Fulfilment Centre’ showcases an e-commerce pseudo-spiritual wellness store that sells people dreams of better health and self-fulfillment but at the expense of the planet, other cultures, collectivity, and a positive sense of self. The installation features a window of illuminated product bottles powered by animated UV LEDs and thermal printers that print fulfilment advice, developed by Creative Computing, alongside a grim performance space of burnt-out workers in harsh conditions designed by Naomi Smyth.

Designed by Naomi Symth and developed with Nigel Fryatt, Rachel Pownall and Nik Rawlings:

• ‘Influenzoo’ is an immersive environment mocking contemporary influencer culture. It features a carousel of influencers promoting products in a performative manner that exposes the absurdity and superficiality of their influence.

Reflecting on the integration of the Creative Computing into the offering at Worthy Farm Coral Manton said:

“Working with Shangri-La is a brilliant experience for us as a team. The blend of DIY, radical culture and inclusive ethos works with our interests in using creative technology to rethink our current relationships with technology and get more people involved in designing the technologies of the future. Of course, we loved the making and coding together – but the best thing for us is the conversations with and between festival goers and seeing how they react to what we have built.” 

Explaining the development of these innovative creative technology installations, Dave Webb said:   

“Planning building and running technology in an off-grid and challenging environment is a big undertaking, yet it forces you to innovate, improvise and be very aware of some of the dependencies built into our contemporary technology stacks. In overcoming these restrictions we implement more thoughtfully and find that it is often the more low-fidelity and open source technologies that get us where we want to go. Working with Storytellers, theatre makers and performers brings the experiences to life for the festival visitors.”