Narrative Environment
The university of Arts London has a course on narrative environments which lets “students design visitor experiences and events for museums, brand, urban and community environments and work in small multidisciplinary teams to tell stories through combining text, image, sound and physical space to create original engaging and immersive experiences” (http://www.narrative-environments.com/page/about).
A narrative environment is a space, whether physical or virtual, in which stories can unfold. A physical narrative environment might be an exhibition area within a museum, or a foyer of a retail space, or the public spaces around a building – anywhere and a virtual narrative environment might be the narrative framework in which game play can proceed, in short where stories can be told in space not only representational but also performative; and not just performatively repetitive but also reflexive and constitutive. As such, it is useful for understanding the world of the early 21st century. For example, the phrase ‘narrative environment’ could be understood to mean that, in the course of our everyday lives, we are surrounded by stories: our own existential experience; other people’s life stories; the histories embedded in particular places; the unfolding of events within a particular moment in a particular place; or the bricolage of graphic and architectural signs distributed about a particular topography, indicating how it might be navigated. In this incision, narrative is ‘that which tells’ and environment is ‘that which surrounds’.
It is also a term coined by the Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design program in Narrative Environments, where the first Narrative Environment course was introduced in 2003. It is a full-time, 2 year Masters level course leading to an MA degree in Creative Practice for Narrative Environments. (http://www.arts.ac.uk/csm/courses/postgraduate/ma-narrative-environments/).
MA Narrative Environments is a unique postgraduate program focused on designing spaces that convey stories. The program encourages experimental and critical approaches that enable students to clarify their own values and position as creative practitioners. By following the program students define their future careers in either the commercial or cultural industries or improve their scholarly skills in preparation for PhD research.
Students benefit from the program’s strong industry links. These provide funds to implement some projects for real. Industry affiliates include multinationals such as Google and the world famous British Museum but the program also works closely with small, local, dynamic design companies pushing the frontiers of experience design. Students meet inspirational practitioners and, in addition, each student gets a personal mentor from the creative industries. The program is special in that it has a network of alumni throughout the world that not only offer advice but also provide employment opportunities specifically to students graduating from this program.
On this course students design visitor experiences and events for museums, brand, urban and community environments and work in small multidisciplinary teams to tell stories through combining text, image, sound and physical space to create original engaging and immersive experiences.
(http://www.artandeducation.net/announcement/ma-in-narrative-environments/)