A couple of months ago People United published an open call for creative ideas for our Kind Places & Spaces initiative, which will explore the positive impact that creative art & design interventions can have, with a particular focus on how they might: spread positive messages, bring people together and encourage communities to think and behave in a pro-social way.
We invited applicants to spend time thinking about and designing innovative ideas that could reframe or reimage positive community spaces, and we were overwhelmed with the variety and imagination of proposals we received. Over 50 individuals and collectives shared their ideas with us and their submissions were of such a high quality that we have decided to invest more in the programme so that we could commission six exciting proposals.
Over the next two weeks we will be announcing the artists and individuals who have been selected, as well as giving you an initial insight into their ideas.
Throughout August our kind creatives will be researching, reflecting, designing, and creating so check back later to discover where their imagination has taken them.
Neelam & Adrian Saredia-Brayley
Tell us why you are interested in Kind Places & Spaces
Kind Places & Spaces is exciting as it encourages moments of kindness & positive interaction in unsettling times. Despite COVID-19, we have learned to be mindful & supportive from a distance. In the new normal, this can evolve too. We’re keen to show how.
Tell us about your Creative Ideas
We want to fill public spaces, waiting rooms, train stations and shopping centres with ‘Kindfulness Spaces’. Instead of adverts, there will be beautiful, nature-inspired imagery, plants, calming soundscapes, poetry & prompts for moments of meditation & positive social interaction.
@Neelam_the_poet @_witchesgetstitches_ @Neelam Saredia-Brayley Poetry @neelam_saredia
Ella Heather Moore
Tell us why you are interested in Kind Places & Spaces
As a Liberal Arts student, I use creativity to work across disciplines. I believe our Earth requires greater interweaving of all entities including subjects, objects, people and surroundings. So, spaces which enhance human connection and the entwining of people are vital. These in-turn help elevate atmospheres of synergy and kindness throughout communities.
Tell us about your Creative Ideas
I will work collaboratively with an architecture student to design an art installation which provides a seating structure for urban public spaces, inspiring us to gather, interact and converse. As a dancer I’m fascinated by movement and so want the structure to embody flowing architectural features. Manipulated into undulating arcs and rippling surfaces- creating benches and sun canopies- the piece reflects the idea that places are formed through the constant ebb and flow of people intermingling and connecting.
www.earthensymphony.wordpress.com @ellaheathermoore @earthen.symphony
Bernadette Russell
Tell us why you are interested in Kind Places & Spaces
Over the past ten years I have been exploring “street philosophy”, inspired by both philosophers, and people who have changed the world for the better. I’m interested in Kind Places & Spaces because it gives me the opportunity to spend time further developing the idea and provoking debate about what we all hope for in the future.
Tell us more about your Creative Idea “Blue skies, jetpacks and hope”
I will spend the time creating playful, homemade billboards that invite you to consider hopes for the future. With stories of kindness, creativity and connection, ancient wisdom, inspiring questions, and tales of those who have triumphed over adversity, they will encourage people to allow themselves to dream, and then take the first steps towards that brighter tomorrow.
www.bernadetterussell.com BernadetteRussellWrites @BetteRussell @bernadetterussell
Amanda Moore
Tell us why you are interested in Kind Places & Spaces
As an architect and artist, I want to make public spaces inclusive and encourage user activity. The Covid-19 safety measures have been set up as a kind act to protect people, but they have also felt prohibitive. I wanted the opportunity to subvert this, so I applied to People United’s Kind Places & Spaces call for Creative Ideas.
Tell us about your Creative Idea
I will design playful temporary street markings which promote conversation, physical engagement with public spaces and the choreography of people, while supporting social distancing. I aim to create a toolkit with design ideas and materials that could be used anywhere, by community venues or individuals.
Rob Young
Photo by Ted Young
Tell us why you are interested in Kind Places & Spaces
This is a wonderful initiative and, in my opinion, what the arts are for. People often think of the arts as a hobby, a frivolous add-on once the ‘real work’ is done, but the truth is, they are our most efficient way of communicating the human condition.
Tell us more about your Creative Idea
I am going to spend the time thinking about how we might transform an empty retail outlet into a ‘Shop of Kindness’, a place where people can go for help – not like a Citizens Advice Bureau, but a free, human and humane skills exchange. For example- Do you need a poem for your Nan but can’t write so good? – Then we know the person who can help you. Kindness would be the currency, but it is given for free, to help people bloom.
Jemma Channing
Tell us why you are interested in *Kind Places & Spaces*
Navigating back into physical spaces will be challenging for communities, who are starting to readjust after months of socially distancing. The lockdown has resulted in increased levels of loneliness, which will potentially become more widespread without innovative solutions. Having Kind Places & Spaces provides creative, accessible and fun ways to reconnect.
Tell us about your Creative Idea
I am going to design Kindness Dispensers. These will be simple dispensing machines which provide the user with a free ticket, giving them a task or an idea for an act of kindness to carry out. The dispensers could be placed in public locations such as parks, beaches and playgrounds, designed to be used by everyone, of all ages.
www.jemmachanning.co.uk @JemchanOT @jemmachanning
Kind Canterbury is funded & supported by:
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