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Lebanon launches mobile “story booth” to collect residents’ memories
Summary
City of Lebanon organizers unveiled a retrofitted phone booth that records short oral histories and prompts visitors with questions; the Indiana Arts Commission provided grant funding and recordings will be transcribed and posted online.
The City of Lebanon and local volunteers have deployed a mobile public-art installation called the Lebanon story booth that records short oral histories and community memories.
The project team discussed the installation on the city’s Love in Lebanon podcast, saying the booth — a retrofitted phone booth placed temporarily outside the Lebanon Public Library — invites visitors to pick up a handset and answer prompts such as “What’s your favorite thing to do in Lebanon.” Organizers said the installation debuted at a recent market and will move to other events, including the Battle of the Barbecue in August.
The story booth was funded in part by a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission, organizers said. Fabrication work was done by ATP Welding, and DynaMark applied an exterior wrap using artwork by Anita Gordon. The team purchased a pay-phone–style unit found for sale on an online marketplace; the sellers’ identifying mark on that unit listed Waterloo, Wisconsin. Organizers said they searched several weeks before finding the booth and drove to retrieve it.
Project collaborators said market attendees of different ages engaged with the booth; younger visitors recorded responses immediately, and some new residents used the installation to describe their early impressions of Lebanon. Organizers said the booth’s prompts can be changed over time so the installation can capture different themes and seasonal topics.
Recordings are being transcribed and cataloged, and organizers said they will post transcriptions on the city website under the community tab. The team also created a character tied to the booth, distributed stickers and temporary tattoos at events, and invited the public to suggest a name for the character.
Organizers described the story booth as an effort to mix visual and audio art and to encourage multigenerational conversation. They said the piece is a “living” installation that can be adapted with new prompts and moved to other locations to collect more voices from across Lebanon.
More information about the Lebanon story booth, including posted transcriptions when they are available, appears on the City of Lebanon website under the community section.
