Daily tous les jour transcends language, cultural and demographic barriers through musical communication resonating with human’s method of vibrational connection
Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos
Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos are the founders of Daily tous les jours. Andraos focuses on Interactive Telecommunications. Mongiat, in Creative Practice for Narrative Environments, co-leads the cultivation of spaces that initiate engagements cross-culturally to cultivate collective experiences made accessible worldwide. They highlight the installation of the Traveling Swing Set and Cimbalom Circle. Mongiat and Andraos share their observations on how their work showcases the rekindled cognitive responses to life when playing.
Daily tous les jours
Daily tous les jours started about twelve years ago. «Mongiat and I met through work and a desire for creating opportunities for conversations. We tried to create work that would resonate in our world. Mongiat was working in and around the topics of narrative environment — creating places that tell stories, and I had been interested in the role and empath of technology as a vehicle for social change and how we can make technology more democratic and accessible to all», Andraos states.
At first, they did not have a name, but a website called Living With Our Time. Inspired by the idea of living with the challenges of the current time and using the tools that they have, interactive tech and storytelling being the tools they use.
Mongiat states that they were both working in public space and confronted with elements of public engagement and public action. «My language at the time was in participatory design and how people should have an active role in transforming their environment. When ‘democratizing tech,’ there is something in public space that gels the idea of democracy and the act of participation».
Weaponizing play to combat the limitations that hinder collective communion
Mongiat and Andraos make international appearances to ignite conversations about weaponizing play to combat the limitations that hinder collective communion. From climate action and pandemic culture shift to protecting democracies, they believe the collective experience must be a focal point for conducive action. Inspired by poets, philosophers, and scholars such as Micheal Sandel’s ideologies, they have formulated tangible demonstrations of how these spaces may host these ideologies in everyday living. Their constructions worldwide stand upon a foundation of philosophy that welcomes the use of methods and talents unorthodox to building a connection. Envisioning, designing, and outsourcing trades have enabled breaking the mold of industrial concepts insular to the potential of design
They started working in a public space because this is where people were. They could go out and reach a wider audience. The city, diversity, and vibrancy of the public realm fascinated Mongiat and Andraos, seeing how they could contribute to enhancing that. Playing is a tool rather than a means to an end — a way to trick people into paying more attention to where they were and who was around them.
«Through this process, we think about the urban condition, the city, how we live together, and how public space today is a precious thing to keep and nurture, creating a place we can be together, regardless of our ideas and backgrounds. The play remains a strong entry door for that».
They invite people from their own creative tables and people from different backgrounds. Photographers, chefs, writers, choreographers and composers, biologists, and engineers. They do this to share their world view to create cities and societies that have become complex spaces. «We cannot come at it from a single angle if we want to make an impact», they state.
The musical swing set: Daily tous les jours
People identify with a row of swings existing in playground arenas. The nostalgia of swings speaks to people’s youthful spirit. It makes the chance to engage irresistible to reclaim memories of once defying gravitational laws and unfettered imagining oneself flying. Andraos and Mongiat created their version of this play component in creating The Musical Swing Set. Known as 21 Balançoires, for an urban context. With the Musical Swing set as one gains momentum into the air, they create music. The swing becomes a living piece of art as it lights up and creates melodies. The Musical Swing is a mobile set. Installed and experienced by communities worldwide is.
Its latest pitstop was in Singapore, and next it will be in Canada. Initially it was created for downtown Montreal as a commission for a specific site built for the public. «We imagined a large collaborative instrument», Andraos says. Then the swing became an interface for the instrument because of the architecture, site, and what the swing is symbolic of freedom and lightness surrounding childhood and play.
«We felt that in an urban context, making sure the invitation was clear that this construction was built for people of all ages, not just kids. You can see the universal qualities of the ‘Musical Swings’ even though the context and host are different, they all experience the same emotions. The experience helps us drop some inhibitions and develop a relationship through the ‘Musical Swings’ to cooperate and make music together».
The integration of technology in people’s daily life
There is a rising concern that technology is decreasing human connection, work collaboration, and employment opportunities. Daily tous les jours installments attempt to contrast these accusations. The sounds, pictures, and responsive features require the utilization of tech to enhance the play experience.
«The transformative power of technology remains something that I don’t think we should give up on. We should continue to explore, push and reinvent technology to put it to the service of the human experience», Andraos explains.
People find it contradictory because their work often uses technology, but they try to hide it so that the experience remains. The ‘Walk Walk Dance’ installation looks like any pavement with lights, but it sings to you. «This realism in your everyday life becomes a way for people to engage with one another and ultimately make the city more friendly». As people face challenges, they need to assess that they know each other. It finds itself in moments of informal connections, according to Andraos. They feel that people do not know how to connect formally, so they trick people through their work.
«As people engaged with the musical pavement, we saw people start playing with their shadows, different tiles, and music. They forget that they are in their own bodies and start to move in a way rarely seen in public spaces», Mongiat shares.
Unlocking predispositions by gaining trust with Daily tous les jours
According to Mongiat, scientific studies are starting to understand the collective performance of music or dance that brings a sense of closeness. This shows a release of endorphins that are augmented compared to when you are doing it alone or not participating.
Andraos explains that «We like to use sound and music over visuals because the cognitive load is lower. You can pay attention to your environment and other people, rather than focusing on something that’s screen-based. A screen requires more attention».
Sustainable versus unsustainable habits
Choosing to do something versus being forced to do something is the difference between sustainable and unsustainable habits for making a change in communities. Their cause to unite people is what motivates Mongiat and Andraos. Presenting the agenda through play initiates willing participation in the mission. Consciously or subconsciously, the participant’s actions support Daily tous les jours mission of creating a collective exploration of living.
Mongiat shares that they published their play publications, where they unpack how people almost forgot how to play. «It impacts how we learn, how we connect socially, and how we negotiate. Looking at how we learn in school is a product of industrialization. It seems natural that it is making its way back as society rethinks industrialization. This allows us to see how we can make a world more human-focused and less machine-focused. We hypothesize that having play scenarios in any space, enables people to be who they are».
Their work is about igniting a sense of possibilities for people. They hope that it can inspire people to protect and reclaim some of their public realm and spaces. They argue that if they can bring joy using musical swings, playgrounds, etc. it can be as simple as taking a table outside and having a potluck with your neighbors and playing music. «Creating trust requires joy and when we share something, we are more likely to trust each other. This is a foundation in a community and communities», shares Andraos.
Daily tout le jour
Mongiat and Andraos shed light on investing in technologies that integrate into daily systems to enhance the performances of everyday living engagements. They are the founders of Daily Tous Le Jour. The engagement they create is attributed to the participation of play. An act some may find trivial or irrelevant to societal issues is deemed essential for cognitive, cultural, and community development.
