Empathy Museum spent a week with Compass developing a project inspired by the role that the Citizens Advice Bureau has played for over 80 years.
‘Citizens Advise’ aims to build a collective citizens’ knowledge for survival, based on deep conversations with communities in Leeds. The project is a reaction to pondering on the collective learning and changing which has taken place over the last two years and sharing together the things we have learnt.
Empathy Museum took over a stand on Leeds Kirkgate market. The team built a drop-in installation which featured a giant ear for listening to advice from a diverse range of people. In exchange for conversations and their worldly advice, participants took home a professional portrait of themselves with the oversized ear, after writing their advice down for the display.
Around 100 participants took part in the project over 3 days, giving advice on love, loss, expectations, household hacks, DIY tips, financial expertise, and specialist advice. They met and conversed with a broad range of regular visitors, residents who were new to Leeds (and the UK), and visitors from across the globe, connecting and drawing comparisons across common experiences.
