The phone box exists these days primarily as an obstruction on the footpath, too frequently overlooked and only occasionally used – has one ever caught your eye? It will now. The Engage art project aims to re-evaluate this everyday object, pushing it beyond its phone-call function and into the realm of the public art exhibition. The Tank Collective has commissioned Paul Mahon (filmmaker), Designgoat (industrial design studio), Leo Scarff (furniture design), Respublica (architecture collective), Mick Minogue (art and crafter) and Mint Design (industrial design) to create new designs for the humble payphone at six locations within the Dame Street-Trinity College-St. Stephen’s Green triangle. The initiative, carried out in association with Culture Night, Hard Working Class Heroes 2012 and Open House Dublin, encompasses re-designs of both the phone box shell and the receiver. From encouraging engagement and interaction with the public environment to hearing HWCH bands playing on the other end of the line, this is one project you’re sure to get hung up on.
