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Artwork for Strangers Need Strange Moments Together
ArtsDesignSociety & Culture

Strangers Need Strange Moments Together

Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos

What happens when strangers step outside their routines into unexpected moments of joy and connection? Strangers Need Strange Moments Together is a podcast by art and design studio Daily tous les jours, and the name of our recently published book, documenting our 15 years of experience designing public interactive artworks.

Hosted by co-founders Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos, the podcast dives into the playful, poetic, and often surprising ways we can connect with one another in the built environment. Through conversations with leading voices in design, art, urbanism, and architecture, each episode uncovers how creative gestures, big and small, can re-enchant our cities and invite us to imagine a future we can look forward to. Guests include Jason Bruges and Ilana Altman.

Whether you're a designer, urbanist, artist, or someone craving a deeper connection with your community, this podcast offers a new lens on how we live together.

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  • 4 episodes
  • Avg 36 min
  • English

Episodes 4

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  • #4
    August 13 · 42 min

    New Choreographies with Dana Gingras

    Can the way we move through a city bring us closer to the people we share it with? Mouna and Melissa chat with Dana Gingras, a choreographer, filmmaker, performer, and founder of the multimedia dance company Animals of Distinction. A creator of boundary-pushing performances that bring together dance, music and technology, she brings her reflections on embodied experiences of the city to this episode. She was also a key collaborator on Daily tous les jours’ Choreographies for Humans and Stars. This conversation gets into working with technology in a way that highlights the body rather than upstaging it, the unpredictability of performing in public space, and the provocation that every city should have a dance strategy. From the small negotiations of passing a stranger on the sidewalk, to the rhythms of a crowd, this episode is about the everyday choreographies of our lives, and how they shape our relationship to ourselves and to others. Topics covered: Dance and choreography, technology and performance, embodiment and attention, play and rhythm, public space, participatory public art. Find out more about Animals of Distinction and the work of Dana Gingras: https://animalsofdistinction.org/ More about Choreographies for Humans and Stars: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en/work/choreographies-for-humans-and-stars Buy Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, the book: https://www.setmargins.press/books/strangers-need-strange-moments-together/ Find Daily tous les jours online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailytlj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dailytouslesjours Website: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en

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  • #3
    May 14 · 40 min

    On Tricking the Brain and our Imperfect Tools with Jason Bruges

    How do you build tech magic into an artwork that must stand the test of time? In this episode, Mouna and Melissa are joined by London-based artist and designer Jason Bruges, whose studio has worked at the intersection of architecture, interaction design, and site-specific installation for over 20 years. Recorded in LA on the sidelines of the Global Cultural District Network conference, they discuss how artists working in public space use technology to trick the brain and create enchantment, all while working within the limits of their tools and planning for longevity. They get into the urban myths and radio call-ins sparked by Jason Bruges’ work along London’s A-13, using tech like paint, and the human fascination with creating artificial impressions of life. This episode is about the wonder and friction that comes with using technology to create out-of-the-ordinary experiences in public space. Topics covered: Tech as artistic material, interactive installations, public art, site-specificity, urban storytelling, lumino-kinetic art, maintenance and longevity in public space, design for permanence, artificial life. Find out more about Jason Bruges Studio: https://www.jasonbruges.com/ More about Litmus, by Jason Bruges: https://www.jasonbruges.com/litmus Buy Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, the book: https://www.setmargins.press/books/strangers-need-strange-moments-together/ Find Daily tous les jours online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailytlj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dailytouslesjours Website: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en

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  • #2
    April 9 · 41 min

    The City as a Canvas with Ilana Altman

    How do you build a city that makes people feel like they belong? In this episode of Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, Mouna and Melissa sit down with Ilana Altman, CEO of The Bentway, an ambitious public space and civic organization transforming the land beneath Toronto's Gardiner Expressway into a laboratory for urban life. They dig into The Bentway’s landmark research into loneliness and the city, and how public programming and design for public space belong in conversations about public health. From a life-size domino trail snaking two and a half kilometres across the city of Toronto, to a post-pandemic season at The Bentway that reimagined play for adults, this episode is about what happens when the potential of existing city infrastructure is harnessed to build community in unexpected ways, and turn people into active participants in their public spaces. Topics covered: Urban loneliness, public health and public space, interactive art, participatory design, play in cities, collective memory, civic programming, community resilience, infrastructure and urban transformation. Find out more about The Bentway: https://thebentway.ca/ Walk Walk Dance, our artwork presented at the Bentway in 2021: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en/work/walk-walk-dance Buy Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, the book: https://www.setmargins.press/books/strangers-need-strange-moments-together/ Find Daily tous les jours online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailytlj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dailytouslesjours Website: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en

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  • #1
    February 25 · 20 min

    Strangers Need Strange Moments Together: A Manifesto

    When was the last time you laughed with a stranger? In this first episode of Strangers Need Strange Moments Together, Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat, cofounders of art and design studio Daily tous les jours, introduce the philosophy behind their 15 years of work in public space and the ideas that shaped their new book. They explore why joy is not frivolous, how collective experiences build trust, and why cities need “infrastructure for the human spirit.” From post-pandemic isolation to the role of music, play, and participation in urban design, this episode sets the foundation for a podcast about cities, connection, and designing for togetherness in real life. Topics covered: Public art, urban design, community resilience, collective joy, civic engagement, interactive installations, social connection, cities and public space. Find Daily tous les jours online Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailytlj LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dailytouslesjours Website: https://www.dailytouslesjours.com/en Buy Strangers Need Strange Moments Together: https://www.setmargins.press/books/strangers-need-strange-moments-together/

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Showing 1–4 of 4 episodes