Listen below as BBC Northampton’s Martin Borley speaks to residents at Swan Gardens, Corby, as they start unpacking memories with a tactile work of art for the elderly people of Corby, called the Corby Memory Chest.
Commissioned by Fermynwoods for our Living Legacy project, over the course of nine months, artist duo Stand + Stare visited Heritage Centres, archives and sites of assisted living and extra care in Corby, producing a digital artwork which reflects the experience of the elderly community and to act as an interactive record of stories told by local people.
The interactive sculpture takes the shape of a colourful wheeled box, containing drawers of archival facsimiles which can be handled and play clips from recorded interviews through concealed speakers. This can be taken into the homes of elderly people and used to prompt reflections and conversations between befriending volunteers and isolated residents.
The artwork has been pledged indefinitely to then people of Corby as a way to continually benefit the elderly community and to act as an interactive record of stories told by local people.