Morecambe Bay Timescape had its final event on March 11th 2022 at the Midland Hotel in Morecambe.
This final event consisted of an exhibition of the students’ artwork, an interactive section with the stereoscopes, and discussion tables. It was both a celebration of the students work and a platform for experts and students to engage in rich conversations about coastal futures. In some cases, some of the ideas presented in the students’ visions were used by experts to illustrate and explain actual interventions that are being discussed and planned for the area (e.g. flood walls, regenerated saltmarshes etc). Students asked questions and expressed opinion on the desirability of different options. They used their artworks as boundary objects that facilitated complex conversations, and helped mitigating power dynamics, language barriers, and hesitancy in speaking out.
Overall, the final event did help facilitating the type of future-focussed conversations that the project aimed at generating. Students and experts both brought different forms of knowledge to the discussions, and students often referred to their work or the experiences conducted as part of the project. Experts were asked to bring one object representative of their practice, and to start their conversations in the discussion tables by explaining their role. Through the event students built a better awareness of the diversity of skills and expertise that contribute to tackling issues of coastal and environmental change.
Serena Pollastri