In the summer of 2009, Alain de Botton will be invited by the owners of
Heathrow airport to become their first ever Writer in Residence. He will
be installed in the middle of Terminal 5 on a raised platform with a
laptop connected to screens, enabling passengers to see what he is
writing and to come and share their stories. He will meet travellers
from around the world, and will be given unprecedented access to wander
the airport and speak with everyone from window cleaners and baggage
handlers to air traffic controllers and cabin crew.
Working with
the renowned documentary photographer Richard Baker, de Botton will
produce an extraordinary meditation upon the nature of place, time, and
our daily lives. He will explore the magical and the mundane, personal
and collective experiences and the interactions of travellers and
workers all over this familiar but mysterious site. Like all airports,
Heathrow (the 15th century village of Heath Row lies beneath the short
stay car park) is a 'non-place' that we by definition want to leave, but
it also provides a window into many worlds - through the thousands of
people it dispatches every day.
"A Week at the Airport" is
sure to delight de Botton's large following, and anyone interested in
the stories behind the way we live.
