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Art and Architecture Legacy Trust UK Youth Theatre Creative People and Places Fund -

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The Barn 61A Manor Road, Blackburn, BB2 6LX T: 01254 674777 E: hello@mailout.co W: www.mailout.co Facebook: www.facebook.com/ mailout.trust Twitter: twitter.com/mailout mailout is published by Mailout Trust Limited Editors: Robert Howell Sue Robinson Contributing Editors: Lyndsey Wilson Claire Williams Kajol Lally Administration: Culturapedia

Contents
REGULARS
Artman Postcard from the editors Funding 3 3 50 CraftyMoon Theatre 37 Share their love of crafting their surroundings International Youth Arts Festival 40 Unleash their interactive arts programme for 2012 Contacting the World 42 Contacts festival shapes the next generation of artists

EXCLUSIVE LEGACY TRUST UK

Moira Swinbank exclusive 4 Kajol Lally interviews Chief Executive of LTUK

FEATURES
ART AND ARCHITECTUREA MAILOUT FOCUS Lace in Place 10 Bedford Creative Arts mission to resurrect a declining craft The Lost Cuckoo 14 One artist and three architects collaborate with cardboard 2Up2Down Anfield builds a stronger community 20

GENERAL FEATURES
Creative People and Places Fund 25 mailout starts the debate on the latest ACE fund Bringing Back The Passion 44 Adele Thomas on her personal journey of rediscovery for one forgotten town

COVER:
Main photo: Lakes Alive at Whitehaven courtesy of Legacy Trust UK Thumbnail: The Lost Cuckoo Project Credit: 2hD Architects & Marcus Rowlands

Architecting Awareness 23 Filip Van Huffel challenges typical conventions of choreography YOUTH THEATREA MAILOUT FOCUS Fumin Productions Presenting theatre in its purest form

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mailout is the national magazine for people developing participation in the arts. The Mailout Trust aims to promote and advance the practice, understanding and profile of high quality participatory arts in the UK. The Mailout Trust Ltd is a company Ltd by Guarantee. Registered in England No. 5252801 ISSN 2048-2647

CALIPSO

POSTCARD FROM THE EDITORS

ARTMAN

POSTCARD FROM THE EDITORS

Bavaria. Weve not seen much evidence of participatory arts but have a couple of interesting observations to pass on. The Olympics were here in 1972. The Olympiapark is still a major leisure and sporting complex, just to the north of the city. As we passed through it was hosting the 2012 Special Olympics Deutschland. We stopped to watch some swimming and cycling. As the UK is frantically preparing for an Olympiad summer and Arts Council England is drowning under an overwhelming demand for Grants for the Arts, your editors have headed for a short break in Our other find was the statue of Roland De Lattre, Court Composer to Ludwig the First of Bavaria, which has become an impromptu shrine to Michael Jackson. Ludwig had a passion for the arts and his downfall

came at the hands of the Irish dancer, Lola Montez. Presumably the fact that De Lattre was a composer has inspired Jacksons mourners. This is an example of the community taking something over for their own needs. Roland is still there and none of the messages cover his name. It is all intact with fresh flowers, endless messages and photographs. Munich is a very liberal city in a very conservative Bavaria. Whilst not really able to understand the devotion of Jacko fans we loved the expression and the tolerance of it. The Editors

mailout greetings from bavaria 3

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The Lost Cuckoo is a collaboration between artist Marcus Rowlands and architects 2hD, inspired by the need to engage a new audience for an arts festival. With an initial focus on empowering families to build their own cardboard structures, the collaboration has led to an ongoing development in the practices of both artist and architect. Here Marcus discusses the process of the collaboration with Tom Hughes and Thibaut Devulder of 2hD.
Marcus Rowlands: At our rst real meeting I brought a book on cardboard architecture but remember thinking: I have no idea where this is going. There was no head scratching just an immediate response that we wanted to work together and would use cardboard. Tom Hughes: In the working relationship I knew that you two would hit it off but of course you didn't know each other. But it worked! MR: Working with you two enabled a sense of security, coming from being able to visualise the ideas. At the same time our conversations were often challenging or befuddling; we'd sometimes take a direction I didn't expect and I'd need some time afterwards to digest and assimilate what had happened. TH: Most successful for us was that it came together without a particular brief, it was very open at the start. That was quite scary for us because in our practice there are always parameters and restrictions to what we can do... often all predetermined before we arrive. This was a step into the unknown. It was all about the people involved. MR: That's also about your own humility as a practice. Working with you both brought about a very different rigour to my thinking and approach. This was highlighted in your need to visually represent each others thoughts. Most of my thoughts stay in my head, as I do not have to share them as consistently as you. I found it shocking at rst: the noise of someone typing, talking and drawing all at the same time I thought it was going to be dynamically incompatible. TH: Working as a group of three was hard at times... MR: With Thibaut living in Serbia we really tried to think

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Parents during an experimental design workshop, at Brocklewood Junior School (Nottingham, UK)

how best to share what was happening in the design sessions in schools, but also what we were thinking. We set up a web cam hanging from the ceiling to show the pictures and thoughts. MR: I remember Thibaut and I called you and we were going round and round with ideas and responses to the families creations. You finally said: 'Is there a question you want to ask me? TH: It was useful to have one of us on the outside, ideas did not get lost; instead we moved them on to another level. You

need people you trust, to give you an opinion on your ideas.

the role of artist is sometimes seen the same way. You are an

This is some kind of antithesis to conventional architectural training, which puts the architect at the centre of things. In this view at the centre of everyone's minds will be the design
This is some kind of antithesis to conventional architectural training, which puts the architect at the centre of things. In this view at the centre of everyone's minds will be the design generated from the genius of the architect. But of course it ain't like that! I imagine to some extent that individual, you are your own brand and it's all about what you do. MR: When you are an artist you are doing it for yourself. As soon as you step into working in the community you realise that this would not work. In our collaboration we were all clear

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Experimenting with the cardboard construction modules in public spaces (Nottingham, UK)

from the beginning that the exciting bit was placing the families in the middle. TH: I think when they turned up they weren't expecting that but they very soon got it. There are some boxes. Please begin!' And they did. MR: We were walking around trying to grasp how quickly they were moving things forward. To me it was like they were sketching for us Think about the physicality of the Dads and their need to build high. Remember the two Mums who wrapped and wrapped boxes creating a massive volume the size of a room. The success was based on everyones enthusiasm and the fact that we were all learning

from each other. TH: The activity was absorbing and it was easy to forget the normal constraints. The excitement of rapid progress in the building, balanced with the uncertainty of what was going to happen, whether it was going to fall, or not fit MR: We actively gave them permission to explore and made it clear we would be documenting the process to influence our thinking. Even when Thibaut got concerned about people using canes to stab the boxes, it informed our design choices. I think the material choice was right. TH: Cardboard was familiar and light

We actively gave them permission to explore and made it clear we would be documenting the process to influence our thinking. Even when Thibaut got concerned about people using canes to stab the boxes, it informed our design choices.

MR: At the beginning, remember, one of the aims was to not lose the familiarity of the box. I wonder whether this was its success. It's a box without a corner, away you go We could have easily complicated it with fixings, decorations, etc. TH: Even though we say its just a cardboard box, the process it went through was fundamental to the end result. We had a relationship with it. MR: There would be no challenge without the corner detail. I remember two boys working together and they found themselves right on the edge throughout the experience. Their parent was concerned about the closeness

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A lot of projects fail because they don't recognise the importance of that stage: they value the doing and the product, but not the skill and time involved in creating a space that allows creativity to develop.
Experimental design workshop, at Portland Primary School (Nottingham, UK)

of a fight breaking out. No, a cardboard box would not do that.

MR: It is something that is important in my practice and that of a few others, but I don't

You do not actually instruct people, you can just create some conditions within which they can be creative. Space where there is nothing to constrain you.
TH: Alongside the permission to explore, there was the notion of holding a space for the families. It seemed key to allowing them to zoom off confidently and get engaged with the project. Thibaut Devulder: Can you explain what you mean exactly by holding the space? TH: You do not actually instruct people, you can just create some conditions within which they can be creative. Space where there is nothing to constrain you. think it is a valued or recognised enough, mainly because it is just too slippery. A lot of projects fail because they don't recognise the importance of that stage: they value the doing and the product, but not the skill and time involved in creating a space that allows creativity to develop. A lot of projects fail because they don't recognise the importance of that stage: they value the doing and the product, but not the skill and time involved in creating a space that allows creativity to develop.

TH: This space that is held It might involve a physical space but not necessarily, it is a creative space or imaginary space that people can occupy MR: Yes, it is working on an energetic level within a space. An awareness of this is needed on projects like The Lost Cuckoo because you are dealing with so many different individuals. As soon as someone signs up to do a workshop, anything could happen; that needs to be recognised rather than abused or overlooked. TD: Working with the public is something we often dont dare do, as there is a big expectation about an architects involvement. TH: Our practice clients may not always be obviously vulnerable, but by inviting us along to design something for them they are making themselves vulnerable. They

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The Lost Cuckoo at the Wheee! International Childrens' Theatre and Dance Festival at Nottingham's Lakeside Arts Centre. (June 2011, Nottingham, UK)

are opening up to us finding out about them, and we can end up inuencing their lives. MR: Do you allow yourself that same vulnerability in the process or do you find that you have to play the role of the professional to reassure them? TH: It is an interesting mix to get right. If we invite their expertise about their needs we can come across sounding like we don't know any answers. Given that we've probably been hired to give them the answer, thats a tricky conundrum! The Lost Cuckoo project has taught us a lot about the value of not being the controlling professional. MR: This comes full circle back to the idea of ethos. Some people get frightened by not knowing what the outcome will be, and just won't give me the work. When I work with people who value the not knowing and the letting go, the work just sails. MR: What I love witnessing is

the building-up of energy and quality of attention in families that get entrenched in an

fascinated by people doing something different in reaction to a particular place...

What I love witnessing is the building-up of energy and quality of attention in families that get entrenched in an activity and a location over a period of time.
activity and a location over a period of time. Could this be done with a moving-trail type activity? TH: It could be a question of creating a necklace of different sites that have their own unique qualities. Each site could give the opportunity for people to become entrenched in it. TD: There is a chaos within a designated, protected space which means it is much more acceptable to create there than at random sites TH: But how can we factor-in the response people have to different places? I am TD: What is our level of involvement? With the Lost Cuckoo I felt like I did very little at the festival. I would like to see if this open approach could be applied to more permanent spaces and the use of harder materials than cardboard. I like the idea of creating a walk where you create friction at certain points that make you change course or action. MR: How far could you take people on a journey without being present? For instance, how do you hold and expand space, whilst allowing freedom for people to be creative? How do you remove yourself, whilst giving freedom to interact without being inhibited?

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Experimenting with the cardboard construction modules in public spaces (Nottingham, UK) Credit: 2hD Architects & Marcus Rowlands

Profiles
Marcus Rowlands Marcus Rowlands is an experienced Nottingham based artist who has worked very successfully managing and creating large outdoor interactive sculptural events at festivals and various community settings. He actively seeks collaboration and willingly takes the role as a Lead Artist on projects involving whole communities. Marcus has a vision to provide imaginative, innovative and engaging artwork in collaboration with communities, artists and other professional practices.
TD: Could we work with small groups and create a series of interventions to explore? The site could move rather than the activity being different. Leaving a trail of devastation and creation behind us as we go TH: I want to be the one rowing a boat carrying the boxes. Where we land is where we build MR: As long as I can carry a blow torch. TD: On a bike Marcus Rowlands, Artist: marcusrowlands@ntlworld.com Tom Hughes, 2hD Architects: tom@2hd.co.uk Thibaut Devulder, 2hD Architects: thibaut@2hd.co.uk

www.marcusrowlands.com 2hD Architects 2hD is a three-person architectural practice: Tom Hughes, Thibaut Devulder and Alina Hughes. The three designers have interdisciplinary skills combining architectural and urban design, public art, engineering and education. Their design revolves around a deep sensitivity to social contexts and site specificity. 2hD thrive in interweaving conceptual thinking, playfulness and craftsmanship to foster engaging user experiences and create spaces with a strong sense of place. www.2hD.co.uk