Let Me Show You Around

Let Me Show You Around grew out of creative engagement activities as part of Think Place - building connections between local families and public art proposals by designer Stephanie Tudor, for new entrance-ways into Westerland Valley Country Park.

In the midst of lockdown, families used creative resources to make connections with their local environment, using sculpture, print, textural work, drawing and design. Along the way, we got to know each other and ideas for new activities were cooked up.

We went on to work with community members across Great Parks to record their memories, experiences and uses of their local area. Recording stories, tracing desire lines, visiting secret haunts and favourite picnic spots, we tried to capture the spirit of Queen Elizabeth Drive (QED) estate as a way of marking the past and present, in order to imagine the future. We recorded ‘walking stories’, children and adults took us on guided tours and ‘mis-tours’, and we tried to observe and map activities large and small across the estate.

People started to discuss aspirations for the future, and Let Me Show You Around is beginning the process of what collaborative design might look like - working towards resident-led approaches to catalysing local energy for improved social and community resilience across the estate. 

The aspiration is that a small group of residents from Great Parks will come together to form a diverse, representative and energetic voice for the community - and to create a visual manifesto that captures ideas and aspirations in their surrounding spatial context.  

To do this, we’ve been working alongside permaculturist Seema Patel and collaborative designer Finely McNab to test how social and spacial design approaches can help evolve a community-owned design for future improvements at Great Parks.