4 December 2024

Notes from an exhibition - The concept

 


Eighteen months had passed since the invitation, amidst those strange times of intermittent relationship with the pandemic. The conditions were finally in place to resume the project. The exhibition remained part of the American Corner initiatives held by the Library of the University of Aveiro, but now with an increased dimension: the Hélène Beauvoir room as a larger and more accessible venue; additional displays with different sizes, meaning more games; and the possibility of having a long-distance conversation with an American guest. An added challenge!

It was, therefore, time to work on the exhibition concept. My eyes roamed the shelves. Boxes of different colours and shapes. Some are brighter, whereas others show marks of age and use. Games from the current year, games a few years old, and older games. Evoking memories of distant analogue gaming times, long before digital arrived. After all, I am a creature from the 2BC era: Before Catan, even Before the Computer. This starkly contrasts the discovery of board games well after video games, made by creatures born in the digital age.

And so, the motto was created! Gaming unplugged: five decades of board games. My board games, from a personal perspective, rather than games intended to portray this industry, that releases new games at astonishing speed. The aim is to show different types of games, their relationship with their own time, and the diversity of themes, processes, components, and materials. With a wink to the process of creating games. Organised in modules to guide visitors across the space. With summarised information, enough for a first contact. With a hint of interactivity.

Next step: Defining and organising the modules.

No comments:

Post a Comment