16 January 2010

I am participating in At Play 2 - the second of two exhibitions - being held at South Hill Park, from April 17 to 20 June 2010.

The exhibitions:

are intended to re-create in the viewers . . . a sense of what it is like to be a child at play. The works invite the viewer to watch, to touch, to explore, to trust, to think, to remember, to laugh, to join in, to peer, to bend down, to bounce about, to take a chance . . . or to play.

I am devising slogans inviting people to play / perform playful acts. Each of the slogans will be hand written on boards and displayed either inside, or outside the arts centre. I had intended to ask children at Charlie Chaplin to devise the slogans, but concentrated instead on gathering stories written by the children - these to be published as an edition of A3, my poster style publication.

There is also the possibility that several of the boards will be displayed in Bracknall town centre, a short distance away.

Here are a sample of the slogans (the first one is directly inspired by a boy playing at the playground):

Thrash A Puddle With A Stick

Sing Your Favourite Song To A Bird

Talk Utter Nonsense

Follow Someone And Touch Them On The Shoe Gently

Make Your Shadow Dance

Embrace Someone Who Is Close To You

16 January 2010 (2)

On Wednesday evening (13 January) a round table discussion took place at the South London Gallery, chaired by Frances Williams - Education and Outreach Manager - amongst artists, educationalists, and play workers, around the themes of play, the possible similarities / differences of approach by artists / play workers working with children and young people, and whether children's play has any relationship to contemporary art practice.

Participants included: Tim Gill, Orly Orbach, Jessica Thom, Lauren Willis, and playworkers from the Charlie Chaplin Adventure Playground.

In the spirit of play, a football match was held in the empty gallery, before the discussion. The two sets of doors were perfect as goals and an empty rigging became the sin bin area where players were sent for their offences. I was the referee, insisting on just two rules:

1 If you kicked the ball and it touched the walls you were sent off

2 The decisions of the ref were unquestionable

The game was played in a highly competitive yet fair spirit.

The score was 4 - 1.

The winners were naturally 'over the moon' the losers 'sick as parrots'.

This proved the perfect ice - breaker for the discussion, which was recorded, and I hope to include excerpts of it here in this blog.

To further aid the discussion going, prompt words were written on footballs, for participants to respond to.

The Man in Black

The Sin Bin

16 January 2010 (3)

Being An MP Is Not Child's Play

METRO - 15 January 2010

MP'S are struggling to master a computer game for 11 year olds . . . on how to be an MP. The 'MP For A Week' game features on the official parliament website and is aimed at sparking interest in politics in young people. Metro asked youth minister Dawn Butler to have a go. But she was criticised on day one of the game for putting a footballer on a finance and economy committee. However she managed to salvage her reputation by 'creating a powerful [cut and paste] speech' on lowering the voting age and was praised as an 'excellent MP' overall.

The game can be found at:

www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/games/mp-for-a-week.htm

Sunday 3 January

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. - Plato

In play, the child becomes master rather than subject. - Alicia Lieberman, Psychologist

Yesterday I visited The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood with my goddaughter. Inscribed on the windows of the museum are these quotes about play.