Image: Edges - Rachel Anderson and Sarah Cole - Creative Partnerships 2009
Photo: Rachel Anderson
Photo: Rachel Anderson
Finding a place in which to discover a sense of self
In 2007 I attended the Play Education conference in Wolverhampton, and became interested in using play as a metaphor to speak about artistic practice. My initial interest was sparked during a presentation about brain plasticity - how it was previously understood that the brain stopped developing and making new connections once a child reached adulthood but recent discoveries show that the brain remains capable of growth until old age. In my area of work I have the priveledge of seeing adults make new connections all the time through creative processes and I'm interested in the parallels that creative process share with childrens play and the benefits these offer us.
I believe that play is a fundamental part of a childs development and not a state an adult can return to (as much as they wish they could) But I'm interested in the advantages of using these metaphors to speak about creative process, compensatory spaces, discovering a sense of oneself, navigating taboos and taking risks.
I believe that play is a fundamental part of a childs development and not a state an adult can return to (as much as they wish they could) But I'm interested in the advantages of using these metaphors to speak about creative process, compensatory spaces, discovering a sense of oneself, navigating taboos and taking risks.
Playful approach at South London Gallery
I first began to develop work with Play at The South London Gallery where I introduced a 'Playful approach to working with childen and families'. A significant early commission in this programe was Play Castles by artist Carl Stevenson who worked with children looked after by Southwark Social Services- This project was the winner of the Chrisi Bailey National Children's Media Arts Award. I developed two under 5's workshops - Couch Potato with Sarah Cole and and Utopia Creche Party - with the Lambeth Band of Solidarity. This was followed by a new collaborative relationship with Charlie Chaplin adventure playground and a summer project and resdency with artist Harold Offeh as part of his Mothership Collective summer exhibition. I later served a year on the playgrounds board of Trustees. I developed a substantial new phase of work on the Sceaux garden Estate which surrounds the gallery and a commission with Sarah Cole State of Play which led to a significant grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Image: Utopia Creche Party - Lambeth Band of Solidarity - South London Gallery, 2006
TAZ - Artangel, 2008
A Temporary Autonomous Zone describes a moment when an idea or a need temporarily occupies the primary function of a space. A kitchen table that serves the primary function of being a table, at which people sit to eat, is spontaneously transformed, through child’s play, into a pirate ship sailing hostile waters.
For a while (maybe a pirate's lifetime) this table is occupied entirely by its purpose as a ship, when play concludes it returns to its basic table form. But for those who encountered the table in its pirate ship form, it will never be the same again. Something has changed, a potential has been discovered, a feeling experienced, a possibility revealed.
TAZ was a series of five commissions with artists Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Ceri Buck, Sarah Cole, Lucille Power and Charlotte Prodger based on the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone as presented by Pete King at the Play Education 2007 conference.
Taking Play theory as its starting point TAZ began with a training programme led by Jess Milne of Design and Build in which the commissioned artists were introduced to theories of the 16 play types, the compensatory play space (an artificial environment created by Playworkers to exaggerate opportunities for play diversity) and the role of the play worker. Using this Play model to interpret their role as artists within a social commissioning agenda, their invitation was to develop an idea, to experiment within their practice and to explore how their practice could be opened up through collaboration to develop a temporary community.
The community, compensatory space or Temporary Autonomous Zone then became a way of looking at the process of making work, of collaborating, and of extending practice to include other people. TAZ is not concerned with an end product or an outcome, but with what happens within its space, place or timeframe; with the dialogues generated, the problems encountered, the changes made and the moments when the artist loses control of the process.
For a while (maybe a pirate's lifetime) this table is occupied entirely by its purpose as a ship, when play concludes it returns to its basic table form. But for those who encountered the table in its pirate ship form, it will never be the same again. Something has changed, a potential has been discovered, a feeling experienced, a possibility revealed.
TAZ was a series of five commissions with artists Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Ceri Buck, Sarah Cole, Lucille Power and Charlotte Prodger based on the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone as presented by Pete King at the Play Education 2007 conference.
Taking Play theory as its starting point TAZ began with a training programme led by Jess Milne of Design and Build in which the commissioned artists were introduced to theories of the 16 play types, the compensatory play space (an artificial environment created by Playworkers to exaggerate opportunities for play diversity) and the role of the play worker. Using this Play model to interpret their role as artists within a social commissioning agenda, their invitation was to develop an idea, to experiment within their practice and to explore how their practice could be opened up through collaboration to develop a temporary community.
The community, compensatory space or Temporary Autonomous Zone then became a way of looking at the process of making work, of collaborating, and of extending practice to include other people. TAZ is not concerned with an end product or an outcome, but with what happens within its space, place or timeframe; with the dialogues generated, the problems encountered, the changes made and the moments when the artist loses control of the process.
Image: Metalpleater - Charlotte Prodger and Maya Selway - Artangel, 2008
Edges - Creative Partnerhips 2009
Edges - Eastwood Primary School - Creative Partnerships
Rachel Andeson, Sarah Cole and Jules Maxwell
Edges was a creative mapping project which explored the edges of where and how we learn in school, responding to the schools desire to transform the use of the outdoor space edges was based on a permaculture concept which suggests that the edge is the most diverse and vibrant part of any system, relationship or environment, the hedgerow or the shoreline for example.
The project observed that.... the edge is a frightening place but a necessary one.... an edge invites you to leave your comfort zone but then to cross back into it...an edge is a fine line between control and chaos....an edge marks a personal, social, physical or ethical boundary....an edge moves as we grow... a daunting edge can transform into a friendly one with time and familiarity.... an edge offers exciting mergers, meetings and possibilities... an edge is physical and emotional... an edge can exclude or include... edges can feel dangerous and threatening.....children cram themselves into the edges of playgrounds.
Rachel Andeson, Sarah Cole and Jules Maxwell
Edges was a creative mapping project which explored the edges of where and how we learn in school, responding to the schools desire to transform the use of the outdoor space edges was based on a permaculture concept which suggests that the edge is the most diverse and vibrant part of any system, relationship or environment, the hedgerow or the shoreline for example.
The project observed that.... the edge is a frightening place but a necessary one.... an edge invites you to leave your comfort zone but then to cross back into it...an edge is a fine line between control and chaos....an edge marks a personal, social, physical or ethical boundary....an edge moves as we grow... a daunting edge can transform into a friendly one with time and familiarity.... an edge offers exciting mergers, meetings and possibilities... an edge is physical and emotional... an edge can exclude or include... edges can feel dangerous and threatening.....children cram themselves into the edges of playgrounds.
Image: Edges - Rachel Anderson and Jules Maxwell - Creative Partnerships, 2009
There's an artist in the playground - Artangel 2009
There's an Artist in the Playground Conference - Artangel 2009
This one day conference was for people who work in the arts and on the peripherals of Play. It platformed a discussion about the parallels between collaborative practice, socially engaged commissioning and Play and saught to bring these dialogues out beyond the Playworld and into a broader context.
Held at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern speakers included key Play specialists and practitioners Pete King, Martin Maudsley, Jess Milne, Wendy Russell and Jayne Stansfeld.
This one day conference was for people who work in the arts and on the peripherals of Play. It platformed a discussion about the parallels between collaborative practice, socially engaged commissioning and Play and saught to bring these dialogues out beyond the Playworld and into a broader context.
Held at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern speakers included key Play specialists and practitioners Pete King, Martin Maudsley, Jess Milne, Wendy Russell and Jayne Stansfeld.
Image: Edges - Rachel Anderson and Sarah Cole - Creative Partnerships, 2009
