Full Audio Description for The Self-Compassion Lab

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Station 1: Reception

You are currently standing at the reception of the exhibition. The exhibition has 5 stations. The reception, the Self-compassion guide, Best Work Tool Table, a creative resource table and a community canvas. In front of you is a long rectangular table where there would be one or two lab sitters seated. On the right of a table is a structure about 60cm in height, with a tactile map layout of the exhibition space. An exhibition sign behind it with text reads: 

The Self-Compassion Lab By Artwave Studio. 2 to 6 Nov, 14 to 18 Nov Exhibition at Alchemist Design Orchard 25 Nov to 4 Dec Popup during Somerfest at Youth Park and 1 to 30th Nov Online Scan the QR or visit https://artwave.studio 

Welcome to The Self Compassion Lab. An industry-focused exhibition around the growing conversation of work cultures grounded in care. We recommend spending 30 minutes in this exhibition. The stations are: The Self-Compassion Guide - An audio guided reflection, with Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) and Closed captioning. Best Work Tool Table - A collection of items and stories from creatives on what they need to do their best work. Resource Table - Browse through books that can help you in your journey. Community Canvas - Let’s tell the story of our creative future together. End of text. 

Feel free to feel the tactile map to get a sense of the spatial set-up of the exhibition. On the map, you will feel the structures labeled 1 to 7. 1 is the entrance, 2 is a waiting area with 4 chairs, 3 is the reception where you are at, 4, the Self-Compassion Guide, 5 is the Best Work Tool Table, 6 is the Creative Resource Table and 7 is the Community Canvas.

The exhibition is laid out to be experienced in a counter clockwise direction. If you’re facing the reception, behind you would be the Alchemist cafe. During the day, you might hear some chitter chatter and clinking of glasses. After 6pm, the cafe closes, but there might be an event happening in the evening as part of the Self-Compassion Lab.  

To move to the next station, follow the Tactile Rope. You will come to the wall of a booth

Station 2: The Self-Compassion Guide 

You are currently standing on the right side of the booths at the Self-Compassion Guide. Text reads: Here is an audio-guided reflection on Self-Compassion, accompanied by Singapore Sign Language interpretation and Closed captioning. Take a seat and choose your reflecting tools of choice from the tool basket. Put your headphones on and scan the QR code in the booth for The Self Compassion Guide. Play the tracks in order for the best experience. We recommend you spend 10 - 15 minutes at this station.  End of text. 

At this station is a booth that extends about 5.3 metres wide in total, against the glass panels of the cafe space. Within this booth, there are four cubicles, approximately 1.2 metres wide with wall partitions that are 1.7metres high. The first cubicle is a chair at a table. The Second cubicle is a bean bag on the floor, note that this booth has a low entrance of about 1.2metres. The third and fourth cubicle is a chair at a table. Take a seat at your preferred cubicle. If a cubicle is occupied, a lab sitter will notify you. Once you take a seat, refer back to the audio description text  for a link to the reflective guide. The video guide is separated into 5 tracks. The  audio guide is translated to Singapore Sign Language by Ammar Ameezy, a male with bangs, wearing a green shirt, against a white backdrop; there is also closed captioning available. 

At each cubicle there is a tool basket on your right with some pen and paper, soft clay, a modeling tool and a white board with markers. Feel free to use those tools to reflect in any way you’d like. If you would like a lab sitter to be your scribe, please let them know. 

Listen to the guide here

After listening to the guide, follow the Tactile Rope to move to the next station. You will come to a rectangular structure about 1.2metres in height with 9 different cubby holes. 

Station 3: Best Work Tool Table

You are currently at the Best Work Tool Table. In front of you is a rectangular square structure with 9 cubby holes holding different items. Text reads: Best Work Tool Table. What do you need to do your best work? Have a read or listen to the stories from the Artwave Team and the Youth Advisory Board, on what tools they use to do their best work. Consider what you might need to do your best work. Please do not touch any of the items.

Here is a collection of 10 items and 10 stories from some creatives on what they need to do their best work. The Items are a green typewriter keyboard, a palm sized hourglass timer filled with green sand, 5 Guitar Picks, a pink game controller, a maroon signo ballpoint pen, a sketchbook with sketches and writings on it, a Wacom Intuos Small Graphics Drawing Tablet, a bear plushie, a nalgene bottle and a notebook with two poems written on it. Feel free to skip ahead to the end for instructions to the next station.Here are the items and the respective stories?

1. Keyboard by Ng Sze Min 

The sound of the keyboard matters to me. The muted crisp and lightness is one of the sweetest textures that accompanies my thoughts as I type. I got this while studying at university. I remember listening to all the sounds of the different switches possible, before picking the Cherry Switch.

 2. Timer by Cheryl Ho

As a classic overthinker, I've found that setting timers for 20 mins to an hour helps me focus on deep work. Once that time is up, I'm done. I can revisit the work at another time or tell myself - this is the best I can do as of today. It stops me from doing “forever tasks” especially in creative work where work just feels like it’s never done. 


3. Guitar Picks by Pan Zai’En

Plectrums are indispensable to the working guitarist. With a change of picks you get a different tone, different attack, and possibly a different way of playing.


4. Game Controller by Cheryl Tan

I love playing video games during my free time. Not only does it help me to rest and relax, I also gain a lot of inspiration from it. As a part of my creative practice, I aspire to create meaningful and impactful participatory experiences with my collective, ATTEMPTS. Playing different types of video games help me to examine and explore the different mechanics that I can incorporate into my experiences.

5. 0.35 Ball Pen by Sebrina

I am a fan of the 0.35 ball pen maroon/navy. The sensation of seeing the color with writing is very light, and the outcome is pretty, as well as lightening my mood. Therefore, I usually carry a pen with me wherever I go because 0.5 ballpoint pens black are the most common outside.

6. Sketchbook by Dorcas Tang

I work on my ipad for most of the day, but having to put down my rawest writing and illustration down digitally can be intimidating. Thus, I usually work on a sketchbook first, so that I feel safer in expressing myself fully before committing to an idea.


7. Wacom Intuos Small Graphics Drawing Tablet by Shalom Lim

When I was 16, I lost the physical strength required to type on a typical keyboard and use a standard mouse, and I could no longer draw, paint, or write using my hands. It was a gut-wrenching blow as I was a child Chinese calligraphist and painter participating in exhibitions and winning awards with ART: DIS. I enjoyed doodling and writing on paper as my mom and teachers all complimented my handwriting, especially in Chinese compositions. This Wacom tablet and its predecessor, the Bamboo Pen, empowered me to complete my tertiary studies and resume the pursuit of my artistic and literary passions.


8. my chou-chou :) by Lee Wen Ying

Sometimes when I start to doubt myself or lose motivation in my art, I pick up my chou-chou and give it a hug. It's a way of promising my six-year-old self that I will grow into the kind of artist she would be proud of; and that little girl who always had her head buried in a book would tell me how much she admired me and how far I've come. My parents gave me my chou-chou when I was two, and over the years my grandmother has stitched it up a few times whenever it got too tattered, so having it near me when I make art is also a reminder of the people who I love and who love me, and to not let them down.


9. Notebook by Laetitia Keok

A habit I picked up this year is copying down poems I love into a notebook. It’s a really grounding process for me—sitting closely with every word, figuring out where exactly the line breaks, it just gets me into the right headspace to engage with my own creative process, so I’ll always either read through the notebook or copy down a poem before I begin my own practice.

10. Water bottle (Cherry) by Sarah

Cherry is the Nalgene water bottle I have had since I was 15. It not only helps me do my best creative work but my best work in general, because it keeps me hydrated, and reminds my body to move every once in a while. When I'm doing creative work and in "the zone" (eg. writing for longer periods of time) it helps to have a biological reminder to get up every few hours instead of being stuck to my chair all the time. End of stories. 

To move to the next station, follow the Tactile Rope. You will come to a rectangular shelf structure with two sloping slides, 2 ledges on one side and 3 on the other.

Station 4: Creative Resource Table 

In front of you is a shelf with 10 books. Text reads: Here is a selection of books that might help you in your journey to design a creative practice and life for yourself that considers care. Have a browse through, and if any of them catches your eye, borrow them from your nearest library or purchase them!  End of text. 

The books that are recommended by the creators of the lab are as follows: 

  1. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr Julie Smith

  2. The Courage to be Happy by  Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga 

  3. Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon 

  4. The Artist Way by Julia Cameron

  5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

  6. Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans 

  7. The Year I Stopped To Notice by Miranda Keeling

  8. Don’t Mind If - Ideas and sharings in support of the communications design industry and community

  9. 3 questions a day by Chai Sunrise

  10. The Relationship is the project edited by Jade Lillie, with Kate Larsen, Cara Kirkwood and Jax Jacki Brown

All the audiobooks of those mentioned are available except for the last 4 books. Feel free to click into the links in the Audio Description text to find the audio book or to learn more about the book. To move to the next station, follow the Tactile Rope. You will come to a peg board wall with two sloping table structures, the one on the left about 70cm and the one on the right, about 1 metre in height with two ipads on each of them.

Station 5: Community Canvas 


You are at the Community Canvas. In front of you is a peg board wall with two sloping table structures 70cm and 1 metre in height. The title text reads: Community Canvas, What’s most important for your creative work? End of text. This is the final station with two points of interaction. Here is the first point of interaction: About 1.5 metres from the ground, There are 5 headers each with an option. From left to right, the header text reads, 1. Music, 2. Environment, 3. Snacks, 4, Conversations, 5. Tools. Underneath the headers are 5 hooks. About 1 metre from the ground towards the left side of the peg board wall, there is a plastic holder with a stack of bookmarks. Each bookmark has a hole at the top for you to hook the bookmark on the hooks. Text reads: Pick a card and feel free to elaborate on your choice in writing on the bookmarks! End of text. Once you have chosen, pick the card and hook it below the corresponding header. Again, from left to right, the header text reads, 1. Music, 2. Environment, 3. Snacks, 4, Conversations, 5. Tools. If you’d like some help to elaborate on your choice by writing, or have other people’s writings read out to you, do let a lab sitter know. There are markers in the plastic holder where the bookmarks are placed. Second point of interaction: Text beside the ipad reads: “It’s your turn to contribute your story! If you enjoyed this exhibition, complete this anonymous survey to help us better understand and tailor the Self-Compassion Lab to the needs and habits of Young Creatives in Singapore! Your thoughts will be collated and be a part of our data story that will be released in December. Stay tuned!”

Scan the QR code if you’d like to do it at your own convenience or on your own device. 

End of text. Find the link of the survey in the audio description text. Once you are done with the survey, follow the tactile rope back to the reception. Thank you for joining us at the Self-Compassion lab!