‘The Radical Incubator’ is a proposal for a virtual reality exhibition that builds on the themes of radicalism, protest, and Pan-Africanism. Initial explorations into the use of charcoal as an affective medium focused on telling individual, hidden stories that centre on underrepresented voices and groups. Charcoal was used to produce stop-motion films, take rubbings of urban textures as well as combine with digital tools such as Augmented Reality (AR). These initial explorations led to an in-depth historic analysis of an underrepresented radical event in Manchester, the 5th Pan-African Congress (PAC). This involved interviewing and corresponding with historians about the 5th PAC, which took place in 1945 at a key moment where anti-colonial sentiments were at a high. These interviews informed the re-construction of key spaces of the 5th PAC along Oxford Road, including the Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall and black-owned community spaces of Ras Makonnen, whose business acumen made it possible for Manchester to host such an event.
The design aspect of the thesis project focuses on proposing a virtual 'incubator' that will take the visitor through the key spaces of the 5th Pan-African Congress (PAC) to highlight the depth of history that once existed in Manchester but has been erased by time and new development using Virtual Reality (VR). Part of the proposal is a walkway that draws the visitor up through the existing facade of Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall, while the other part is the virtual spaces can be viewed through a VR headset. What’s more, VR can be applied to other movements and historic events to foster empathy and understanding amongst the people of Manchester.
Ariel Helen Chesley
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