Wulfrunian and Olivier award-nominated actress Frances Barber narrates an augmented reality trail through the city that explores Wolverhampton’s role in the textile industry and fashion glamour, from Courthaulds Textile Works to department story Beatties and the city centre of the 1960s. The stories featured on the trail are among hundreds told through ground-breaking multimedia technologies as part of the UK’s largest immersive storytelling experience, StoryTrails, this summer.
StoryTrails, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, features digital experiences that invite residents to experience Wolverhampton in a completely new way through augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and an immersive map of the city. On 6 and 7 August, activity is centred around Wolverhampton Library and on the streets of Wolverhampton itself. The city is one of 15 UK-wide locations that StoryTrails is visiting this summer, from Bristol to Dundee.
The augmented reality trail through Wolverhampton, accessed through mobile devices, takes people to the factory floor of Courtaulds Textiles Works, a major employer from 1926 to 1970 whose factory chimneys dominated the city’s skyline, to the glamour of the pink powder room at Beatties department store that was part of the Wolverhampton shopping experience from 1877 until its closure in 2019; as well as offering a taste of window-shopping in the 1960s featuring risqué dresses and hotpants.
The trail was created using film from BBC, British Film Institute and local archives to present a window into the past. Visitors can borrow devices from the library and follow guided augmented reality trails across the two-day event as well as follow the route independently by downloading the Story-Trails app onto their own devises.
Inside the library, the immersive map of Wolverhampton reveals ten stories of local people and familiar landmarks, such as ‘The Man on the Horse’ statue – depicting Prince Albert and unveiled by Queen Victoria herself – and Major’s Fish and Chip Shop – a culinary institution established in 1975. The map was created by Grace Gelder who used 3D scanning of people and buildings to create it. The 15-minute film plays on a loop throughout the day and a further 20 stories can be viewed on iPads in the library.
Grace and Sian Macfarlane, who created the trail, are two of 50 local and emerging creatives around the UK selected to take part in the development of StoryTrails and benefit from expert training and mentoring opportunities from StoryFutures Academy, the National Centre for Immersive Storytelling, the team behind StoryTrails. StoryFutures Academy is run by Royal Holloway, University of London and the National Film and Television School (NFTS).
Grace said: “It’s taken months of work to get to this point and we can’t believe we finally get to share it with everyone. It’s truly been a project by Wolverhampton, for Wolverhampton, created in Wolverhampton. We’ve unearthed incredible stories of powerful local characters that deserve to be told. We’ve worked closely with BFI and BBC archives to help tell those stories and we’re using new technologies like AR to bring them to life in a way that makes them accessible to all. If you don’t have a smart phone you can borrow one on the day – come along to the library on the 6-7 August and you’ll be able to give it all a go, for free.”
Time travel continues inside the libraries across the two live event days, when visitors enter digitally created worlds using a virtual reality (VR) headset. They can expect to find themselves in the shoes of a rebellious teenager as she discovers her mother’s punk past; take part in one of the many South Asian daytime raves that took place across the UK in the 1980s and 1990s; and hear what earlier generations thought life would be like today. All the stories featured on the VR headsets are available at every stop on the StoryTrails UK tour.
Historian and television presenter David Olusoga, familiar to viewers of the BBC’s A House Through Time, narrates a further AR experience that invites visitors to turn a dial on a virtual giant radio and travel back in time. From Beatlemania and the flares and haircuts of the swinging sixties, to dancing to the end of the millennium in crop-tops and trainers, audiences will experience a potted history of the UK through the decades.
This innovative project is led by StoryFutures Academy, the National Centre for Immersive Storytelling. It was developed by teams of leading technologists and creatives, brought together for UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a UK-wide celebration of creativity taking place in 2022, including immersive animation pioneers, ISO Design and Nexus Studios, and the company behind Pokémon GO, Niantic. It is brought to life in The Reading Agency’s national network of libraries and by event-making specialists ProduceUK.
Professor James Bennett, Director of StoryFutures and StoryTrails, said: “This is about getting people excited about where they live – helping them connect with stories of their towns and cities from the past and present through a new lens. New technologies like AR and VR can help build these connections and reignite people’s passion for the past. These technologies are for everyone – we want to find ways to engage people from all generations and spark a genuine celebration in each of our incredible locations.”
Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, said: “StoryTrails is one of ten ground-breaking UNBOXED projects taking place in 2022 that demonstrate the power of creative collaboration across science, technology and the arts to create extraordinary and never-seen-before public experiences. StoryTrails uses cutting edge technology to offer people the opportunity to hear about the places they live – the stories of individuals and communities – in a way that has not been done before.”
StoryTrails’ 15-stop UK tour runs from 1 July to 18 September 2022 and culminates in a new film presented by David Olusoga that will screen in UK cinemas and BBC iPlayer. The Story-Trails app, augmented reality story trails and immersive maps will be available throughout 2022. The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge, for children aged 4 to 11, takes a StoryTrails theme.
UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK and is commissioned and delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland.
StoryTrails Wolverhampton
6 August, 10-6pm and 7 August, 11-5pm
Wolverhampton Central Library, Snow Hill, Wolverhampton WV1 3AX
The Story-Trails app will launch on the App Store and Google Play to coincide with the event.
Facebook and Instagram @StoryTrailsProject. Twitter @StoryFuturesA
