Art Block on Elmington (2017-20)

About

I curated the Art Block on Elmington between for South London Gallery between 2017 and 2020. The project comprised workshops and artist projects for children and local residents on Elmington Estate, London, as part of the wider programme for neighbouring estates, Open Plan. I managed seven artist projects comprising of sound installation, temporary sculpture and film, including:

John Macedo, 'My Life Over Here' (2018)

In Spring 2018, sound artist John Macedo worked to map children’s memories and experiences of growing up on Elmington Estate. 'My Life Over Here' took the form of a temporary oral history trail installed in six site specific locations across the estate. Residents and passersby were welcomed to plug in their headphones, listen and hear a snapshot of the lives of the children that live and play here. Subjects included slime, sports, food, friendship and even their dreams for the future.

Running from September 2019 to March 2020, 'Elmington Stories' aimed to connect different generations in the area: adults were invited to be interviewed by the children and share memories of their own childhoods on the estate and offer advice to future generations. Interrupted by Covid-19, the interviews and field recordings from the site culminated in a live broadcast from the estate as part of Bank Holiday Broadcast on Resonance FM. The soundwork played aloud from the car stereos of locals and back into the environment where the recordings had been made.

The stories shared were inspired by prompt cards designed by the children and were featured as part of the broadcast, as well as a live performance in which the sonic possibilities of the playground were explored using beaters, sticks and contact mics. The broadcast concludes with a visit from the local ice-cream truck; a regular feature at the workshops on the Elmington Estate.

1. Workshop image from green-screen activity led by Kaleidoworks

2. Film still from ‘Film for the Future’, 2019 (Photo: Kaleidoworks)

3. Launch of 'My Life Over Here' on Elmington Estate (Photo: Leah Morris)

4. Installation view from project ‘Lets Decorate The Playground’ (Photo: Shepherd Manyika)

Text work: Interview between myself and Kaleidoworks about three years of collaboration with the children of Elmington Estate. Read here.

Visual artists Betsy Dadd and Lydia CS are Kaleidoworks, an artist duo whose practice revolves around the participation of other people. From 2017 – 2019, the duo worked on three play projects on Elmington Estate. Each project culminated in a film produced collaboratively with local children that were exhibited for the first time in the SLG's Fire Station as part of the Local History Weekend in June 2019.

Shepherd Manyika, 'Lets Decorate The Playground' (2018)

What does the perfect place to play look like?

Shepherd Manyika worked with local children to explore ways of decorating the Elmington Estate playground, through weekly experimentation with colour, pattern and scale. Paintings and collage from each workshop were recycled and reused to take on other forms such as flags or wallpaper. Materials like scaffolding foam, dust sheets and bamboo were also repurposed to transform the site with large scale tunnels and tent-like structures to crawl, play and hide in.

Kaleidoworks (2017-19)