June was also quite a busy month. Many errands had to be run and many crises needed to be averted. But the most interesting moments for me were the tour with civil servants, the meeting for augmented/virtual reality and the chance to work in a team at SAMA for the first time since May.
A chaotic tour with 40 civil servants (7th June)
At the end of the first week of June, I had to help Anna to prepare for a large-scale workshop with 40 civil servants who were celebrating a colleague’s birthday. Essentially, the plan for the workshop involved giving a tour to all 40 individuals and then having them engage in some activities at the office. The moments leading up to the tour was one of the more stressful tasks that I had to see through during my time at SAMA. This was because we were on a tight schedule and a lot had to be done before the group arrived (this included the arrangement of tables, preparation of drinks and the arrangement of the food).
The tour was also very challenging as we finished it 15 minutes late. Evidently, it proved to be very difficult to move a group of 40 people around the district as a decent pace. Because of this, I was very fortunate to have Tristan helping with the tour as he is very good at adapting the tour according to the amount of time remaining.
Once the tour was over, so was all the pressure and stress. We had lead the group back to the gallery and introduced them to the workshops that were prepared. At this point, the atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was having fun. It was a pleasant conclusion to a busy day.
Augmented reality and virtual reality (14th June)
This month, we had a meeting with a teacher and project manager, Rufus, from Mediacollege Amsterdam to discuss SAMA's vision with regard to augmented reality and virtual reality. It was amazing to listen to Rufus and Anna discuss the possibilities for capturing the street art experience as this was a significant transition point for the museum.
We currently already have a prototype for augmented reality in street art with Oak Oak's Mario brother, which has impressed many tourists. When I first joined SAMA, I thought it was amazing to see how augmented reality can be combined with street art to create a new experience. Having the opportunity to witness the next steps of this project has made me eager to see the final result one day.
A bigger group (15th June)
Once again, there was a massive group (of 38 German students) that needed a tour and I was the one responsible for conducting it. However, unlike the previous large tour, I didn’t have Tristan to help me with this one. This tour was somewhat challenging as I needed to speak slowly so that all of the students understood what was being said (not all of the students were fluent in English). In addition to this, this group was more inquisitive that most tourists, so I needed to answer some questions that aren’t asked very often.
On this same day, SAMA had welcomed a new recruit names Amon.
Amon is an art student who had recently moved into the area and was very keen on becoming a volunteer for the museum. His knowledge of the arts had enabled him to answer some of the questions about the relationship between government and street art that we encountered during the tour. Titi, another one of SAMA students from Mundus College, also joined the tour along with her brother as they were also very interested in the street art collection, and a possibility of becoming a guide.
At the end of the tour, after the German students left the gallery, Anna tasked me with cleaning up the exhibition from a few months prior- the Love Letter from Paris. Because there was a lot to clear up, Amon, Titi and her brother helped me with the necessary tasks. This was a significant moment because it was the first time I felt part of a team at the SAMA gallery since the previous interns left in May. So it's not a surprise that we ended up On Production a couple of days later.
