Archive for Public Play
Summary
The Archive for Public Play collects/stores/disseminates/activates examples of children’s self-initiated play as a means to produce play knowledge and re-activate public space.
Supported by
TRADERS
Office for Public Play
HDK, Academy for Design and Crafts
MA Child Culture Design HDK
Description of project
Being intrigued by Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting Children's Games (1560) and the insight of how little evidence of popular culture survives, in particular on the self-invented and self-directed play activities in public (spaces), the Archive for Public Play was born. Passing knowledge on self-initiated play from one generation to another has mostly been done in a non-formal and oral way. Unfortunately, most of the time, there is no transmission at all and because there are no traces left, this play knowledge becomes forgotten. In order to retain this play knowledge, the Office for Public Play has set-up of a cross-cultural and cross-generation archive, called Archive for Public Play.
An archive, consciously or not, inevitably implies collecting. In his description of a collection Hans Ulrich Obrist states that a collection is “… also, inevitably, a way of thinking about the world; the connections and principles that produce a collection contain assumptions, juxtapositions, findings, experimental possibilities and associations. Collection-making, you could say, is a method for producing knowledge.” (Obrist 2014). This latter statement expresses one of the major intentions of the Archive for Public Play as method for producing knowledge on children’s self initiated play and their relation to cities’ public spaces.
The Archive for Public Play contains a collection of personal stories, photos and instruction from various contributions that focus on play activities that are self-initiated by children and use cities’ public spaces with the least possible (play) materials/tools/attributes. The immateriality means to guard equal play rights and to consciously decrease commercial powers, omnipresent in and dictating our contemporary society and its public spaces. Contributions to the archive are collected through open calls, installations and workshops and therefore its collection completely relies on its participants.
The archive does not postulate a static character (online consultation) but performs in the real world by disseminating several selections in different forms (printed, installation, performance/re-enactments etc.) in publications, exhibitions spaces and in the cities’ public space. This active stance contributes to create new perspectives on contemporary public spaces and stimulates critical thinking and debate. The archive is performed in public space during e.g. Public Time sessions where children and/or adult play collectively in public space. By performing contributions of the archive in public space, an original contribution - send in by a single person - will loose its subjectivity and become many new realities. The ambiguous character of the archive’s contributions allows different interpretations and re-enactments. Re-enacting free play in public space, creates new perspectives and meaning, and enables us to understand public space in new ways. In addition, this reactivation may help to induce bonding with the place and thus appropriation, care and engagement. To use the archive contribution sin new re-enactments and interpretations allows differences and complexity; they propose different perspectives on seeing/being/experiencing public space. There is no intention to discover a scientific truth, but rather to believe in multiple perceptions and contribute to a collective ‘giving meaning’ to public space.
Obrist, H. (2014). Ways of curating. London: Allen Lane.
Description of work included
Archive for Public Play, online archive (1)
www.officeforpublicplay.org/archive
A growing online collection of personal stories, photos and instruction from various contributors focussing on play activities that are self-initiated by children and use cities’ public spaces with the least possible (play) materials/tools/attributes.
Growing with Design, Designing with Play!, presentation on conference (2)
This lecture reflected on the role of free play and other play qualities such as ambiguity, transformativity, performativity and disruption in participatory design methodologies with children. The lecture was part of the Growing with Design conference at HDK. With two days of lectures this conference explored, discussed and played around interesting questions, theories and thoughts connected to Child Culture Design. With John Wall, Suzanne Osten, Gro Dahle, Helen+Hard, Nils Norman, Björn Dahlström, Febrik, Baupiloten, Lieselotte van Leeuwen, Mathieu Gielen, Designlab S, Annelies Vaneycken.
Archive for Public Play 1.0, exhibition 1 (3)
The Office for Public Play installed its office at A-venue, Gothenburg, as part of the Growing with Design group exhibition. This installation invited the public to contribute to the ‘Archive for Public Play’ by memorising and narrating their favourite ‘free play’ activities as child, or from when they were child.
Archive for Public Play 2.0, exhibition 2 (4)
The Archive for Public Play presented six stories in large size poster format (70x100cm).
The work was presented at The Research Show group exhibition. The Research show is an exhibition showing work in progress from doctoral researchers based in the artistic faculty of the University of Gothenburg. The exhibition features works by André Alves, Eva la Cour, Kerstin Hamilton, Annelies Vaneycken, Arne Kjell Vikhagen, and Eva Weinmayr. Works presented are produced by researchers from art and design who are currently pursuing doctoral studies at HDK and Valand Academy.
Lunch Talk on play and game in art and design practices and
research, discussion (5)
A conversation between Arne Kjell Vikhagen and Annelies Vaneycken on their current research exploring ideas of 'playing' and 'game' in art and design.
Archive for Public Play - Excerpt 20151014, poster (6)
The Archive for Public Play, Excerpt 20151014 collects and disseminates a series of personal stories and photos from the online archive. They aim to pass on knowledge on free play, as well as trigger the reader to re-enact the stores in a more active way, as means to re-activate public space.
Annelies Vaneycken - Archive for Public Play, book chapter (7)
Book chapter on play and the Archive for Public Play in: Growing w/ design (2016). The first issue of the Making Narratives series: Growing w/ Design focuses on child culture. The book contains a collection of some of the perspectives and projects presented at the Growing with Design conference (HDK Academy for Design and Craft, October 2015). Edited by Henric Benesch & Johnny Friberg, with contributions of designers, architects, illustrators, artists, researchers and social scientists: John Wall, Annelies Vaneycken, Helen & Hard, Mohamad Hafeda & Reem Charif, Suzanne Osten, Lieselotte van Leeuwen & Mathieu Gielen, Samir Alj Falt, Gro Dahle, Play without Borders, Marthe Roosenboom, Eva-Johanna Isestigb, Ran Flygenring.
Type of work
Participatory design
Published in
Online archive: Archive for Public Play, www.officeforpublicplay.org/archive/, ongoing Presentation on conference: Growing with Design, HDK, Gothenburg SE, 14 October 2015 Exhibition: Growing with Design, A-venue, Gothenburg SE, 13-18 October 2015 Exhibition: The Research Show, A-Venue, Gothenburg SE, 6-23 April 2016 Discussion: Lunch Talk on play and game in art and design practices and research, A-Venue, Gothenburg SE, 20 April 2016 Publication (poster 1): Office for Public Play (2015). Archive for Public Play. Excerpt 20151016 Publication (book chapter): Högskolan för design och konsthantverk (2016). Growing w/ design. Göteborg: Högskolan för design och konsthantverk.
Link to web site
http://officeforpublicplay.org/archive/
http://tr-aders.eu/the-research-show/
http://officeforpublicplay.org/department/the-archive-for-public-play-2-0-exhibition
http://officeforpublicplay.org/department/the-archive-for-public-play
http://cargocollective.com/growingwithdesign
http://officeforpublicplay.org/department/growing-w-design
View/ Open
Date
2016Creator
Vaneycken, Annelies
Keywords
Participatory design
children
play
free play
public space
archive
Publication type
artistic work
Language
eng