Southbank Centre turning a disused space into a Festival Village

Southbank Centre turning a disused space into a Festival Village through recycling and social media outreach

5-6 tons of recycled materials saved from landfill and used for the project, including 2 tons of materials salvaged from the existing site

Festival Logo_web

Over 200 participants are already taking part-creating and making a space at Southbank Centre that will welcome international artists to London. They come from all sorts of backgrounds including architecture, design, arts or construction. Reaching out to volunteers and sourcing their material using Facebook, Twitter and blogs, the Festival Village will be an innovative physical space with a digital history. The project is a unique take on 'codesign' and 'comake' processes: volunteers from all walks of life have signed up to design and build the space from scratch, guided by Lyn Atelier (http://www.lynatelier.com/, and TILT http://www.studiotilt.com/) working with Southbank Centre's in-house teams. It's a bold step by Southbank Centre using fresh, young designers and totally transforming a disused space through collaboration.

Collaborative design is an exciting new approach to designing and delivering spaces. Facilitated by experienced designers, the process involves engaging a community around a space and encouraging them to get involved in all aspects of creating and making it. The aim is to harness people's collective ideas to codesign the brief and ensure the space is truly fit for purpose. The comaking of the space also gives participants an opportunity to get physically involved in making the space in a way that is fun, safe and develops their affinity with the space.

The 200 volunteers would welcome many more participants and those interested are being urged to sign up quickly at--
http://festivalvillage.wordpress.com/blog/

or via the Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/groups/festivalvillage/

Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, said: "Festival of the World will be a space for artists and visitors from around the world to enjoy a three-month celebration of the arts and its power to transform lives. The Festival Village will be at the heart of the Festival and demonstrates the power of what can be achieved when people join forces to work together to create something new."

The Festival Village is using social media and the power of its community's network to source materials including wood, paint, bricks and shelving to help make the space as well as reach out to participants. Overall, there will be over 5-6 tons of recycled materials saved from landfill and used for the project, including 2 tons of materials salvaged from the existing site.

Southbank Centre's Festival of the World
1 June to 9 September 2012

Southbank Centre's summer 2012 site-wide Festival of the World with MasterCard opens on 1 June 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee Weekend, and closes on 9 September 2012. As London welcomes the world this summer, Southbank Centre's Festival of the World will include inspirational projects from the UK and around the world, which showcase the power of the arts to change the lives of individuals, communities and whole societies. The site will be transformed with art installations including a giant 'robot' sculpture; a colossal baobab tree made from fabric; 'Rainbow Park', a multi-coloured beach; and an exhibition in the Royal Festival Hall of the thinkers, artists and communities who have inspired and contributed to the Festival. The reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden, weekly food markets, and a pop-up cafe complete the Festival landscape. www.southbankcentre.co.uk/world

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