Boxbot was an event I devised on the notion of a ‘Rubbish Revolution’ and that your recycling could have another lease of life, via the making of cardboard robots/robot costumes. It was a simple but fun activation, made to engage children and adults alike. The event secured a residency at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club with the likes of 'You me and bum bum trian', before going on to host workshops at Camp Besitval & Hoxton. Boxbot also went on to be commissioned by Cedar Lewisohn at the Tate Modern to host the main stage / workshop area on the Southbank Lawn as part of the ‘UBS Openings: The Long Weekend 2009’ in conjunction with the Tate Modern’s Arte Povera exhibition.
‘Arte Povera’ translates literally as ‘poor art’. So ‘Box Bot’ felt very much at home here. We had the best time curating circuit benders, set designers and Boxbot performance pieces, alongside our workshop. In the build-up we worked with ORDER an animation and video studio on a short ‘mood piece’ to run as a visual on the day. ‘This Way Up’ can be seen above and on the Tate’s Youtube Channel.
The event featured across several of London’s media channels and culture blogs - securing near a years worth of workshop contracts across festivals, schools and corporate events. The Art Povera event itself saw bustling crowds of over 100,000 pass throughout the course of the day.
Box Bot was formerly a club night in The Bethnal Green Working Mens Club before running 3-day pop-up workshops for the likes of The Tate Modern, design museum, Camp Bestival, Hoxton Hall and many more.