It takes a village 1.0
Interactive artwork 2026
Participatory art | Digital pet | Interaction design
Melbourne Fringe Festival (2026)
The Motley Wherehaus - 2 weeks
A development as a part of City of Melbourne’s Test Sites program
Overview:
It takes a village 1.0 is the first version of a larger digital and sculptural work funded as a part of City of Melbourne’s Test Sites program.
It takes a village is a digital pet that the public must keep alive or it dies.
The public must feed, play with, clean and give the pet their attention otherwise it becomes visibly sick.
The work lasts the span of a week with each day the pet changing form, and on the 7th day the pet “transcends” if it has been taken care of.
The work is about community, shared responsibility and care.
My leading question was, will the public tyake care of a digital entity by choice? Or will it be ignored, just another task.
Participants returned and all interactions were tracked for further improvements to the work.
Design:
The pet was housed inside an old eMac that I found on ebay (it was broken), I gutted it and replace the screen with a second hand monitor.
Inside was running a Raspberry pi5, which powerder the software and interaction pad. Including two infra red sensors that sensed hand movements over two exposed holes.
All pet designs and UI designed by myself.
Who to contact:
For any commissions, collaborations or inquiries, you can email Tom Richards at thomasrichards@outlook.com.au