Ludicology

Play-Work Exhibition at Tŷ Pawb

Monday October 7, 2019

It isn't every day you get a call asking if you would like to facilitate and curate an exhibition that celebrates playwork; the cross section between children's play and the work of artist ,and advocates for childrens play. An exhibition that will run for the whole of the summer and in to Autumn. So, when you do, you say YES! this post explores a briefly what was involved.

Early in 2018 we were contacted by Jo Marsh director of Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham Council’s Markets, Community and Arts hub. Jo, working with Wrexham’s Play & Youth Support Team, was keen to develop an exhibition to run through the summer of 2019 that would celebrate Wrexham’s rich history of playwork and make links with the way in which artists work. We were commissioned to act as consultants, to provide advice to the council and develop plans for the Play-Work exhibition, facilitating collaboration between partners including the Local Authority’s Play & Youth Support Team (PYST), The Venture, AVOW (The Land), Wrexham Youth & Play Partnership (WYPP) and of course Tŷ Pawb.

Our work included coordinating meetings with partners and stakeholders, developing final plans from concept consultations, costing and budgeting both build and staffing requirements, collating archival images, providing policy advice and guidance by way of operational plans and producing post installation risk-benefit assessments. We also curated / developed the text displays for the exhibition. Finally, we provided support and oversight of the actual build of the exhibition, in partnership with Colin Powel (The Venture), Adam, Andy and Jo (Tŷ Pawb) and Jay Davies and Gareth Stacey (Wrexham Play and Youth Support Team). This was no mean feat with 500 pallets and 16 tonnes of sand being transferred (by hand) in and out of the gallery!

This exhibition was about playwork and children’s right to play, in particular the Welsh Play Sufficiency Duty (which made Wales the first country in the world to legislate for children’s play) and General Comment 17 by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (another groundbreaking publication in terms of support for children’s right to play). As such, interactions between adults and children within the exhibition were guided by the Playwork Principles. These principles explain the ethical approach playworkers take to working with and on behalf of children and their play. In addition, we developed a further set of guiding principles to help staff consistently aligned their practice with the aspirations for and values of the exhibition, these included:

  • Children must be allowed to play in the gallery when it is open.
  • The space must be co-produced involving both children and adults.
  • The space must develop over the course of the exhibition, illustrating the process of co-creating a place for play.
  • There must be some direct playwork involvement with children.
  • The installation must create an affective space with the look and ‘feel’ of an adventure ground.
  • The space must provide people with a sense of permission to be playful
  • There must be an accessible route through the gallery for those who don’t want to play or have limited mobility.
  • As far as is reasonably practicable, adults must avoid being precious or prescriptive over the resources made available to children.

The Exhibition opened on August the 10th 2019 and ran for three months until the end of October. It included a live adventure playground within Tŷ Pawb’s gallery one, photographic archives of playwork in Wrexham since the 1970s, alongside a new commission by artist Morag Colquhoun and Assemble’s film ‘Voices of Children’. The exhibition celebrated children’s’ play and highlighted and celebrated the history and ongoing significance of playwork in Wrexham, in particular Wrexham’s adventure  playgrounds and the parts they play in the lives of local people. Furthermore, the exhibition advocated for the ongoing resourcing of playwork provision, explored the creative processes of making, taking apart, and remaking that children undertake on adventure playgrounds, and it considered what can be learnt from this and transferred into artists’ studio practice.

We are pleased to report that the exhibition had approximately 10,000 visitors over the three month period, with fantastic feedback from both children and adults who were themselves actively involved in further developing the site.

The exhibition closed with a conference at Ty Pawb, exploring the art of working with playing children and the creative common ground shared by artists, playing children and playworkers. Speakers included us (Ben and Mike), Dr Wendy Russell, artist Nils Norman, Penny Wilson of Turner Prize Winning Assemble, Artist Morag Colquhoun and playworker Colin Powell.

 

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" Working with Ludicology on the play designs for Mereside, Blackpool was an important component of the project. Mike and Ben are a pleasure to work with, their experience and knowledge of play related issues and design is invaluable and unique. They are also both skilful workshop leaders and – importantly – fun to work with. "Nils Norman, Artist working across public art, architecture & urban planning

" Play Scotland was delighted to welcome Mike Barclay & Ben Tawil to Scotland recently to talk about their work measuring Play Sufficiency. The aim is clear-more children playing together more of the time! Ben and Mike offer simple steps to meet the ongoing challenge of improving the ability of adults to identify and develop ways in which they can better respond to children’s right to play. Uplifting and enthusiastic presenters, we had fantastic feedback on this inspirational presentation. "Marguerite Hunter Blair, CEO Play Scotland

" I don’t know what was going on in there but you could hear them all laughing at the other end of the building! (feedback from Managing Risk in Play training) "Sharon McCluskie, Information & Communications, Play Scotland

" Brymbo Heritage Trust worked with the Ludicology team across 2018 and 2019 to explore ways of incorporating play and playfulness within an industrial heritage visitor attraction and community park. They made us laugh, helped us rediscover the child within us (easier for some of us!) and see our proposals through children’s eyes. As a result we have a far more inclusive set of plans going forward, and a stronger team to boot. "Gary Brown, CEO Brymbo Heritage Trust

" Ludicology's research and development work on the Welsh Play Sufficiency Duty is fantastic. They bring insider knowledge, experience of real and innovative actions, and a conceptual approach focusing on conditions that support children's play. Plus, they are wonderful to work with, combining commitment, energy, creativity and playfulness. "Dr Wendy Russell

" Mike and Ben take a rigorous approach to play which at ZCD Architects we find extremely valuable. Their work is transformative, accessible and transferable and has helped us to position children’s play more strategically in terms of planning and design in London. "Dinah Bornat, co-founder of ZCD Architects and a Design Advocate for the Mayor of London

" Thanks to Ludicology for providing supervision and mentoring sessions for us at The Land. The service provided is truly excellent and includes the opportunity to reflect, test out new strategies and manage pressures - not forgetting the moral support and the assistance with staff and policy development. When it comes to play and playwork these guys have all the answers! Plus, they're pretty cool to be around 🙂 "Claire Pugh, ‘The Land’, Plas Madoc

" Mike and Ben have a particular knack for engaging with children to understand their needs for play and independence in the built environment. These practical skills are complimented by a rigorous academic approach to analysing data and reporting. "Helen Forman, Urban Design Manager, Leeds

" I just want to say the biggest thank to Ben and Mike for bringing their expertise and general magic to our Play-Work exhibition, right from planning stage and install, bringing all the stakeholders together, designing and building the space, advice throughout and for their involvement in the end of exhibition conference. It’s been a privilege working with them both and I’m looking forward to more shared projects in the future. "Jo Marsh, Creative Director at Tŷ Pawb

" Mike and Ben were great to work with. Having their more independent review of what was happening in terms of play at zoo bit, before and after our major campaign interventions, was really valuable in supporting us to develop our approach. Their supportive yet challenging approach also enabled us to work through what we needed to document about our approach to play, to ensure we could drive it forwards in the longer term. "Charlotte Smith, Head of Discovery and Learning at Chester Zoo

" The Loose Parts Play in Schools training inspired us. This is such an exciting venture for us and something that I strongly believe will transform behaviour on the playground, as well as improving the resilience, problem-solving skills and wellbeing of our children and staff. Ludicology training is highly recommended to all colleagues. At Gwaunfarren, this loose parts approach will play a pivotal role in the day to day running of the school. "Louise Bibby, Head Teacher at Gwaunfarren Primary School

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