Nonchalance began as an art collective in Oakland, California around 2002, and later in 2008 was transformed into a design consultancy group. Their work focuses on interactive, immersive art installations, which they call "situational design".

History

Nonchalance was launched by Jeff Hull around 2002. Their first project was the street art campaign called

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. Original projects included a wheat-paste poster series, the "Oakland-Love Retrospective" slide show (projected onto downtown architectural landmarks), the Liberation Drive-In parking lot movie series, and the Oakslander Lakeside Gazette zine. These projects aimed to infuse cultural content into negative urban spaces during a time of rapid development in the city.

The Jejune Institute

In 2008, Nonchalance created The Jejune Institute, an

alternate reality game An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players' ideas or actions. The form is defined by int ...

, public art installation and immersive experience that ran in San Francisco, California, from 2008 to 10 April 2011. The Jejune Institute featured a narrative that made use of live actors, puzzles, phone calls, radio transmissions, staged protests, and interactive promenade theater. It centered on characters such as the eponymous Jejune Institute and its founder, the rebel group the Elsewhere Public Works Agency, and a rebellious young woman named Eva. Over the course of three years, it enrolled more than 10,000 players who, responding to eccentric flyers plastered all over the city, started the game by receiving their "induction" at the fake headquarters of the institute, located in an

office building An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

in San Francisco's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

Latitude Society

In 2015, Nonchalance opened the Latitude Society, an invite-only secret society and immersive experience. It featured a clubhouse, an arcade, and regular social events. The Latitude Society closed after one year, at least partially due to an operating cost of $3,000 per day.

SYGNYL

From 2021 to 2022, Nonchalance ran a podcast called ''SYGNYL'', "a participatory-arts podcast" inviting the audience to participate in "small collaborative acts in the real world."

Awards

The Jejune Institute won "Best World" and "Best Story" at

Indiecade IndieCade is an international juried festival of independent games. Game types include video games, live-action games, and tabletop games. Independent game developers are selected to demo, screen, and promote their work at the annual IndieCade fe ...

2010, and "Best Alternate Reality" in the SF Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay 2010".{{cite web , title=Best of the Bay 2009: City Living , url=https://sfbgarchive.48hills.org/sfbgarchive/2010/01/04/best-bay-2009-city-living/ , website=San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966–2014 , access-date=16 September 2022 , date=4 January 2010

References

Immersive entertainment 2000s establishments in California IndieCade winners Companies based in Oakland, California