Little Utopias
Little Utopias is a walk-through art experience exploring the idea of utopia, devised in collaboration with local community groups. Travel through a series of co-created art spaces, each with a different take on a perfect world, place, or moment in time, as we ask: Is Utopia possible?
About the Programme
Little Utopias was commissioned by ARTCITY as a socially engaged artist residency focusing on the hyper local. An artist in residence – Richard Redwin - was commissioned to investigate, test ideas, themes and formats with the Space to Connect Advisory Group and local residents at B arts’ base at 72 Hartshill Road, using different methods of co-creation on the theme of Little Utopias.
The commission was set to take place between June and September 2021. The projects targets were to work with at least two new groups and to use two different methods and art practices.
Little Utopias was a research and development commission, designed to feed into a Little Utopias theatre show in March 2022. We wanted to develop ideas around Utopia, whilst encouraging participants to think more like artists, and to bring them further along with the process of developing a concept from inception to show. The work culminated in a walk-through art experience at B arts building on 10th October 2021.
Workshops
We planned an initial round of workshops with a specific activity – making Little Utopias in shoe boxes. We used a variety of materials, and provided an open brief for the participants where they could build anything they wanted that represented a perfect world or Utopia to them, within the confines of the shoebox provided. This was a warm up exercise – so that we could begin talking about bigger ideas and pick out specific things that participants had touched upon and created that were interesting. The idea was that we would scale these ideas up with later workshops.
The Little Utopias artist team held workshops with: Space to Connect, Space to Connect Advisory Group, St Dominics Care Home, Under One Roof (with Sanctus at St Marks Church).
Walk-Through Experience
Little Utopias Walk-Through Experience, 10.10.2021, was created by B arts working alongside the local community, led by associate artist Richard Redwin. Richard also worked closely with upcoming artist Oliver Meachem and local photographer Amrick Devgon. Richard has been using different methods of co-creation on the theme of Little Utopias. Activities have included conversations, making little utopias in shoe boxes, making a giant art wall and inviting participants to build and contribute to the final immersive walk-through experience.
With special thanks to the Space to Connect Advisory Group, the B arts neighbourhood group, St Dominics Court Care Home, Oliver Meachem, and Amrick Devgon.
Gallery
Below is a selection of photographs taken at Little Utopia workshops and the walk-through experience. Click on an image to enlarge it.
