Futuremakers: Play and Festivities in the Park

Abstract

This case study reflects on Futuremakers, a summer-long festival on the theme of “play, make, build” held at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, UK. Set in a municipal park, the event brought local community groups together with creative practitioners by making visual work and discussing stories of local heritage, representing these findings in a curated gallery context. The reflections draw out an understanding of the impact of creative acts: how they can help redraw perceived boundaries between public and private space, and redefine ideas about how and where art can be generated.

Keywords:

• Birmingham
• play
• festivals
• art practice
• Cannon Hill Park

Notes

Notes

1 Chinn, Carl, “Tulip Festival was a Bloomin’ Great Idea!,” Birmingham Mail (June 28, 2014), available online: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/birmingham-tulip-festival-bloomin-great-7337900 (accessed April 18, 2018).

2 Rudolf Frieling “Towards Participation in Art,” in The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now, ed. Rudolf Frieling (London: Thames & Hudson, 2008), 48.

3 Paul Kidder, Gadamer for Architects (Abingdon: Routledge, 2012).

4 Huw Wahl, dir., Action Space (UK, 2016).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alessandro Columbano

Alessandro Columbano is a senior lecturer at the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design. He co-established the Collaborative Laboratory (Co.LAB), an organization within the school which integrates teaching with practice through live projects, staff research/design and external consultancy. As anviere, a self-chosen design guise, he has developed a portfolio of site-specific installations and artworks commenting on the subversive qualities of our physical environments.