A Place That Makes You Go Ahhhh....

Prior to the discussion event, Writers Shaping Places, on Tuesday 30th June, UrbanWords has commissioned a new article by writer Chris Meade, drawing on his experiences of working with designers and public artists, Snug and Outdoor. It's an engaging read, which offers concrete examples of how writers can facilitate creative consultation and make a valuable contribution to the design process. The article - "The place that makes you go ahhh.." is free to download from the Articles and Critical Thinking section of the A Place For Words site.

Chris will be talking about the issues and examples he raises in his article at Writers Shaping Places, on Tuesday 30th June, 6.30-8.00pm at Shortwave, Bermondsey Square, London, and will then be in conversation with Kate Cheyne from Architects in Residence, and Sarah Butler from UrbanWords. There are a handful of (free) tickets left. Please call Spread the Word on 0207 735 3111 to book a place, if you haven't already.

We are setting up an online networking site to enable people to continue the conversation after the event, and to bring in people who cannot make the event, but are interested in the issues raised in Chris's paper, and in broader ideas about writing and regeneration. The site will be launched on 30th June and I will post up details of how to sign up on that date.

Poetry on Hoardings on Greenwich Peninsula

A poem created by myself and year 3 students at Millennium Primary School as part of Almost an Island? has been used as part of a commission by artist Faisal Abdu'Allah - the piece is called In The Same Place and consists of a temporary lightbox attached to the hoardings on John Harrison Way, opposite Greenwich Millennium Village.

Ameliorating Amelia Street

I recently worked with another artist, Kamala Katbamna, to explore the area around the Pullens Estate in South East London with a group of young people from Gascoigne Primary School. The local TRA are working with the Architecture Foundation to recruit architects to improve the public realm in the area, and we wanted to add the voice of young people to the mix of information given to those applying for the tender. You can read the writing created here, and find out more about the competition, and listen to Kamala's sound piece by visiting the Amelia Street website.

Barking Metamorphosis

UrbanWords is involved with a really exciting project in Barking, East London, working with the Barking Learning Centre, writer Yemisi Blake, the art/architecture practice muf, product design students from the Royal College of Arts, and young people living in Barking.
There are chairs, tables, trees and stories, and much more to come. I am very excited about it! We've set up a project blog at www.barkingmetamorphosis.wordpress.com which will be developing over the next few weeks.