The "Under an Umbrella" project stems from an experience that I had as a freshman in college, in which a younger version of myself offered a young lady a spot under an umbrella during a rainstorm. From that rainy two-block walk and the conversation that it allowed, an exuberant yet naive relationship developed.

I offer to escort local residents to their desired location under an umbrella, as a sort of umbrella taxi. Our walk and conversation will be recorded via an "umbrellacam" and will be uploaded to the project website. With this experiment I am interested in how a shift in spatial experience, i.e. a space designed for one being used for two, can shift other relationships such as communication. And how something such as our vulnerability to our environment can offer us unique (and sometime intimate) human experiences.

This project has been presented as part of the 2006 Conflux Festival in Brooklyn, NY, the 2007 Provflux Festival in Providence, RI, and independently in Buffalo, NY. A short article on the project appeared. Coverage of this project can be found at the UB Reporter and Chronicle of Higher Education (*requires subscription).