Wednesday 11 October 2017

Fun Palaces



I made inflatables at our Fun palaces event on Saturday.  They look great on this film but it was a bit rubbish really as it was to windy.  The day was great with loads of activities and a big turn out.  If I'm taking this seriously I probably need to say that sometimes things don't go as planned - there is a tiny bit at the end of this film where there is a moment of fun and wonder that makes it worth it but generally the kids attacked the inflatables with swords before I could get them out of the door. I nearly dropped my hair dryer on someones head and somehow something that has worked well in the past didn't quite come off.  It made me think that small structured familier activities like making a sword from card and covering it with tinfoil - doing some painting - making a kite -work really well at the adventure playground.  They give a moment to exchange and interact with an adult - a space in the clutter of play.

Maybe I need to do some of these activities more regularly so they become more familiar,  so the young people get used to them and can then start to experiment. We are making Lanterns for a lantern parade this week - this has become familiar now - I think it's taken about 10 years. I  wonder if this is part of what artists do in social cohesion if they are located in a place, rather than the more itinerant protean path I seem to walk.