Exiting The Gasholder

A collaborative public intervention created for Art Night 2019, exploring ownership of public space in London.

https://2019.artnight.london/artist/up-projects/
What was your first memory of being in public?
What does it mean to be in public?
How can we make this public?

Through an intervention that circles the perimeter of the Gasholder Park, the Constellations group invited audiences to engage with both a private and a public space. A text-based artwork using the form of a planning notice directs participants to walk from the Gasholder Park (a privately owned public space managed by Argent) to The Cock Tavern, a social, private-public space with a strong history of inclusivity and supporting radical/social groups. Participants are guided by a map which outlines the bylaws and ownership of the spaces traversed in the 15 minute walk from Gasholder to Cock Tavern, which allows participants to reflect on : who owns the city and who is policing who? What permissions does one have in (private/public) space, and are we aware of the (often) subtle systems of control that manage our behaviour in cities? At the Cock Tavern, we used our budget from ArtNight to buy participants a half pint and chat about our memories of being in public in a relaxed, social setting. The intervention encouraged a dialogue on permission, tolerance and publicness, and allowed us to begin creating an oral history of memories of what it means to ‘be in public’

Image credit; myself

design by me, printing by Park Press

design by me, printing by Park Press