The contact contract: It Is good to meet you

Are you curious about the exciting fusion of social robotics, and puppetry? Explore the unique synergies between puppet design and social robotics in this innovative project.

Image credit: UCL Soft Haptics & Robotics Lab

                                                                                                                                                        Puppet Designer Tony Mason and Roboticist Dr Azadeh Shariati from UCL Mechanical Engineering are exploring the way in which people from different backgrounds meet and greet each other and the boundaries that stop or allow people occupying the same area to connect. 

They are collaborating with people who live, work and play in a defined area adjacent to Olympic Park in East London, to devise a character with a specialised haptic ability as an interface to meet others in the area. The Artwork will be a chronicle of these people and their interactions.

This project is part of The Trellis 5 commissions, awarded to Tony and Azadeh by the UCL East Cultural and Community Engagement team. 

Through these new partnerships, East London artists and UCL researchers will continue collaborating with local communities to create new artworks.

Exhibition at UCL East in March 2025

The Trellis exhibition will be held on the UCL East campus:

• 13 Mar – Exhibition Private View
• 14 Mar – 13 Apr – Exhibition and events run

Trellis is an annual art commissioning program that brings together artists, researchers, and local communities to collaborate on new work. The exhibition will showcase the work of the five commissions and provide insight into the collaborative processes that took place. The events will be interactive and engaging and will explore the research and community interests. 

Please read more about the exhibitions.

Azadeh Shariati
Associate Lecturer (Teaching)

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