Between May and July 2015 I’m talking to people all over our neighbourhood from the Downs to Spike Island, the Centre to the Portway, Kingsdown to Clifton and everywhere in between. I hope you enjoy their stories. This is the story of Sharing Communities…
What do we do with all this Stuff?!
What we’re trying to find out is what we all do with the things we don’t use any more and whether anyone else can make use of them. I’m pledging to make our pile of stuff above useful by the end of 2015 and I need some help!
What sort of items are we ‘wasting’? The things we can’t give to charity shops or we don’t want to put in our boxes or send to landfill. To name but a few…
- Organic Matter- food, plants, seeds, patches of soil
- Clothes and fabrics of all kinds
- Household objects- furniture, appliances, curtains and crockery
- Bits of bikes and boats
- Art materials and even works of art
When we’ve worked out what people might waste and others might want, we’re going to organise some events where people can meet together and swap their stuff and create some wonderful new things.
Won’t that be like a car boot sale without hard cash? Well, maybe a bit, but at each event we’ll also be doing some workshops and collaborations to help each other turn our rubbish into works of art!
Along my journey through the neighbourhood, I’m meeting some amazing people who are doing great work with what we throw away and I’d like to share their stories. First up is FABRICation. Take a look at Mike Timmins’ work on the journey of textiles.
Are you creating new things from old?
- restoring furniture?
- mending or remaking clothes?
- regenerating unloved spaces?
Get in touch, and I’ll share your story on this blogsite and through the Bristol 2015 Neighbourhood Arts Programme.
Here are 5 ideas for events between July and November 2015, that I’m talking to people about:
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks connecting students with people who have unwanted household items
- Float your Boat talking to people who live, work on or float on Bristol Harbour or the River Avon New Cut
- Growing together linking communities of gardeners, food growers and those creating green spaces
- Wheels & Deals a neighbourhood wide tour of safe routes and workshops for young people maintaining, creating and decorating their wheeled treasures
- Re-make fiesta with work from locals who are creating new art and artefacts from old and inviting everybody to join in and celebrate
Join in the conversation and the events!
Don’t say, ‘Isn’t this just Gumtree off-line?’
Do say, ‘Have you read Stig of the Dump?’
Related articles: Growing Together, FABRICation, We HEART our Students
annahaydockwilson@icloud.com, Facebook Neighbourhood Arts Programme, Twitter @ahaydockwilson, #NAP2015
Anna Haydock-Wilson 
