IN THE SPACE WITH… LUCIA SCAZZOCCHIO

It is at the core of Old Diorama’s charitable purpose to provide space and opportunities for local and creative communities, and in doing so, we are fortunate to meet fascinating people doing inspiring things.

We reached out to radio maker, sound artist, and podcast producer, Lucia Scazzocchio from Social Broadcasts, to tell us about the important and unique work she does, in particular the ‘intergenerational storytelling’ project she is leading at ODAC.

First of all, would you just tell us a little bit about yourself and about social broadcasts? 

I started Social Broadcasts eight years ago. It’s about combining community engagement, art practice, and radio and so a lot of my work is ‘place based and working’, with groups of people who live in a specific place and working with them in collaboration to create some sort of audio piece. That might be an audio walk, that might be an immersive audio experience, or it might be workshops or it might be making a podcast together. 

I guess I've kind of created my own niche in the audio world. And the main aim with Social Broadcasts is to enable people whose voices and conversations aren't normally heard in mainstream media to collaborate and to make sure that their stories are told in the most authentic way possible.

And how have you ended up working with us at ODAC?

I had met Daniel [Pitt] through some work I’d done with some performance artists called Hunt and Darton - their radio as performance art concept called 24 Hour Radio Local - and so when he joined Old Diorama, he contacted me, and mentioned wanting to initiate more audio storytelling in the community, specifically at the Regent’s Park Estate Community Festival last year,  remembering that that’s what I do.

I had some links to the local area, having worked on a project recording people in different areas where the HS2 railway was going to pass through, and I'd actually met Mariam there through that previously, several years ago… And then I also realized that Old Diorama was 20 meters away from another place that I've been working with, which was Esther Randall Court. 

I contacted Esther Randall Court around five years ago because I had this idea that I'd like to create a radio station in a care home. They loved the idea, and we managed to source the equipment, and trained the staff to use it, and everyone was incredibly enthusiastic (they still are!) but people didn’t have time to manage it, and then COVID happened… Long story short, when I spoke to Daniel and Mariam, the idea of linking ODAC and Esther Randall Court via my work in radio really took off.

Was ‘intergenerational storytelling’ always the hope with the studio at Esther Randall Court?

It was. But the project wasn't originally just aimed at young people, it was anyone who wanted to be involved. But with Mariam being in charge, she had group of young people who she thought would be great for this project.

It became much more intergenerational than first anticipated but there's something really lovely about it. I think teenagers and older people have a special connection. That gap creates something really interesting - there's a different kind of respect between them.

When you're training the young people, is the focus on technical or is it based around communication and in the radio context?

The first few sessions are really testing out what people are interested in and what they want to do and what they want to learn. For this age group, the main thing is developing how to have a conversation, how to ask questions, and how to do an interview.

So are these skills which really transfer to a non radio environment, would you say?

Absolutely. I think there's confidence building, being able to kind of present and talk about yourself, asking questions, being interested in other people, and knowing how to answer questions and communicate effectively yourself.

How important for them to be imagining their audience compared to focusing on the moment with the person they’re talking to?

I don't really focus on thinking about other people listening. I think it's more about being in the moment, listening to each other in the room. There's something quite magical that happens, no matter what age, as soon as they've got the headphones on and the microphone, they’re kind of locked into a conversation. Active listening kicks in and the person is much more focused on the conversation which makes for a more engaging and authentic outcome.

I suppose it's really clear what the young people get out of it, and the audience who listen, but what about the older residents? 

Well, they get to tell their stories and they get a group of people who are interested in listening to them, and they get to connect with young people. It’s wonderful when someone's really interested in you and listening to what you have to say and asking you questions, and people love talking about the past and they love talking about their experiences and sharing those. 

This focus gives space and opportunity for those conversations to happen and to find some commonalities, create some links.

Other than the fortuitous location of the Esther Randall Court studio you set up(!), what is it you like working with ODAC?

I guess the main thing that Social Broadcast does, and why Daniel got in touch with me last year, is it uses radio and audio to connect people with their local environment and their local community. The more people you meet and the more you understand about where you live, the more connected to that place you'll feel. There aren't that many opportunities for people from different generations and from different social backgrounds to mix. 

And that's the kind of core of my practice to focus on a place rather than type of person. 

The place becomes the hub and the nexus for all these people that are crossing paths.

What I do is create an opportunity for those people that just walk past each other to actually meet and talk.

I sense that's something that Old Diorama does very well too - and is trying to do more - giving people the place and opportunity to connect.

Thank you so much to Lucia for your unique work, and for taking the time to chat with us. Thank you also to all the participants of the intergenerational storytelling programme, and to Esther Randall Court. We can’t wait to hear what’s next…