THE SCULPTURAL PLAYGORUND PROJECT 2012
Name of project or invention: Dean Arlen’s Sculptural Playground Project.
The aim of this project is to
install “The Tacarigua Sculptural Playground” as the prototype for a unique
Trinidad and Tobago model that would inspire national pride, promote national
consciousness, build character and establish a distinctive identity among young
Trinidad and Tobago nationals. This innovative project involves the use of indigenous
design, construction and installation of 23 play-items in the Orange Grove
Savannah, Trincity, Tacarigua.
It has been conceived as a
community based project using the creative industries - art, architecture and
artisanal crafts as a basis for the incorporation of art and design in local
construction and urban development. This project has the potential to evolve
into an incubator industry for indigenous art and design in construction
projects for the local, regional and international market.
Why a Sculptural Playground?
International cultural,
political and business leaders see cultural and artistic production as vital to
creating the kind of environment in which people want to live, visit and
invest. The mark of a civilised nation
is often measured by how much it supports and values its arts and supports
cultural production. The proposed
sculptural playground will celebrate local art, design and artisanal skills as
well as the community’s unique histories, ethnic diversity and their contribution
to leadership and national development. This playground project will develop a
basis for the design and production of uniquely designed play items which
through interaction with the community and or the clientele results in
continuous innovation, unique design and product development.
Why
Play?
According to psychologist Susan Linn:
“Most
child development experts agree that play is the foundation of intellectual
exploration. It is how children learn
how to learn. Abilities essential for academic success and productivity in the
workforce such as problem solving, reasoning, and literacy all develop through
various kinds of play, as do social skills such s cooperation and sharing (Linn,
2008:12-13).”
She notes that:
“...play has healing powers and leads to
self-understanding and personal growth.” She continues:
“But pretend play provides children with a much more than that. It affords them the opportunity to learn
invaluable skills – to immerse themselves in experience, solve problems, create
possibilities where none exist, learn what it’s like to be someone else, and
make something new form that which already exists(Linn,2008:22-23)
Today there is a growing
recognition of the importance of play in children’s lives and as this society
seeks to address many of the problems of dysfunctional child development, this
assumes greater significance. Today there is an increased demand for play
spaces as evidenced by the establishment of play spaces in shopping malls and
at multinational fast food outlets. This
project presents the possibility for locally designed and crafted play items
that can fire the imagination of young citizens in a way that imported, chain
produced items are unable to do.
Our children
should be able to play in spaces that develop their ways of seeing, their
confidence and articulation of self.
Just by seeing this space and engaging with these fantasies, fantasies
derived from their own cultural and historical context, therefore [unlike with
Disney], the children will and can believe in themselves. The sculptural playground space is designed
to facilitate this self-learning. It will be a space that allows the child to
be a child, and to believe and act on this; giving them the room for a
far-reaching experience in traditional play without the beeps, buzzers and ring
tones of contemporary life. The
traditional ‘plastic’ playgrounds are not designed to stimulate the
imagination. Rather they seek to confine
the child within existing social and cultural norms.
The project is conceived as collaboration between the
state; private sector and community that will build on existing synergies in a
cooperative effort. In the initial phase it seeks to use communal and corporate
financial resources to develop, construct and install the prototype. This
request seeks to access funds for the first phase of this project, to develop
the prototype and a presentation to access capital for the installation of this
initial project. This project will then
provide the incubator for similar projects or similar production of play items
in other spaces locally, regionally or elsewhere in the world.
In this development phase of the project, efforts
will be made to actualize and create an urban design company that will market
designer play-items specific for urban, rural and private spaces, locally,
regionally and internationally.
Objectives
The objectives of this development phase of
the project are:
1. To
extend the reach of the artist beyond the walls of the gallery to people of all
classes and economic groups;
2. To
develop work that is artistic but also functional providing examples of urban
art and design. This should be a beacon to a new generation of artists who will
see a role for functional art and design in addition to the solely aesthetic or
conceptual.
3. To
provide a prototype of a new innovative incubator industry based on indigenous
art and design with potential for future development;
4. To
develop a collaborative production system for the creative industries involving
artists, architects, planners, engineers and artisans.
5. To
involve community members, schools, vocational training programmes and
university students in new forms of innovative indigenous creativity and skill
development.
6. To
develop a work of art for all to admire, creating pride and a sense of
ownership in the hearts and minds of the community.
7. To encourage a stronger sense of community
through activity among adults and children of varying ages in community
playgrounds around the country.
This project also has the potential for the
further development of other art/design projects such as:
1.
Furniture, living designs for urban and rural spaces.
2. Other innovative urban
designs projects that could be marketed to state, private consumers, UN bodies,
regional institutions and the international community.
This project
will also encourage patenting and copyright registration and so increase this
country’s position on the innovation index, in which we are poorly represented
at this time.
Target market/clientele
This project will be marketed to any client, community or entity that
requires a unique artistic, designed product, specifically designed and tailored
for specific spaces, locations and communities. We will target entities that
are sensitive to specific criteria for site-specificity, indigenous design,
local production, environmental sustainability and community participation. This could include but would not be limited
to:
· State Urban development
corporations
· NGO’s who are interested in
development projects in South-South spaces,
· State organizations within
the region and internationally,
· Private sector
organizations with progressive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
programmes;
· Innovative communities
interested in introducing art/design projects in their communities
· Innovative and creative
branding companies under certain specified conditions;
· The international art
market including - design shows, curators, museums, galleries, art writers and publications,
etc.
What makes this idea unique or original?
This project is unique not
only in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean but in the entire world. Each
sculptural item represents a synergy between art and product. The uniqueness of
the idea is not only the play-items themselves as a marketable creative product,
but also the overall intention of the project to create unique products based
on a consideration of the sensitivity of
each space. This allows for the development of an art-design product that remains
competitive and continuously evolving. It is also about how the project
operates within these spaces – they will act as empowering tools - challenging
how communities understand and experience play and space.
Designer spaces are becoming very lucrative
spaces as they capture the imagination of designers as cathedrals and museums
do.
Location
The Orange Grove Savannah, Tacarigua,
On the 24th of December 2004, the then
Permanent Secretary Mr. Trevor Percival, Ministry of Youth and Sport gave
permission for a portion of the Orange Grove Savannah, Tacarigua to be used for
a Sculptural Playground Project to be installed. I have met with the Minister
of Sport (owners of the land) Mr Anil Roberts and his colleagues of the Sport
Company, the Chair of the Tunapuna Regional Corporation (custodians of the
land), Khadijah Ameen and community organizations.
Work Plan/Timeline
1.
Community
Consultation (2010-2011)
Interventions were made in
four schools in the Tacarigua community area with the support of teachers and
parents. Children in four schools were
consulted and asked to draw designs of their ideal play spaces. These drawings provided some of the
inspiration for the designs that have been produced. Consultations were also
held with a number of community organisations.
DURATION
– 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION (The community consultation and
involvement will unfold with the project)
2. A formal public presentation to potential corporate
sponsors/investors, community members and related state entities – Last Quarter
2012
This will take place at the
proposed site of the sculptural playground.
The proposal and plan will be presented to members of the corporate
sector (energy and other), state bodies of relevance to the project e.g. Town and Country Planning - Ministries of Planning
and Development, Arts and Multiculturalism, Sport, Gender, Youth and Child
Development. the Environment Management Authority and educational institutions
such as the schools in the area, the Metal Industries Company, The University
of the West Indies and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
DURATION –
1YEAR
3.3. 4.
Continued
Community Mobilisation and Involvement
A community mobilisation officer will be hired who will ensure community
ownership of the project and their involvement at certain key points.
DURATION – THIS WILL
FOLLOW THE PROJECTS EVOLUTION.
5. Analysis and Development
With
the successful installation there will now be a basis for evaluation, analysis
and documentation of the process. In particular the production process can be
analysed and streamlined with a view to production and the development of a
systematic production process system.
This can then be adapted to suit the needs of specific production
contexts.
DURATION – 1YEAR
Four
years include prepping, logistics, mobilization, delays, climate, analysis etc. The project can be morphed to enable pro-activity.
How will it transform the lives of people and
the country?
· It will be
seek to raise the level of local artisanship by challenging the skill level of
our artisans, technicians, engineers, academic institutions including secondary schools and the manufacturing
community. Through the formation of a cluster community of artisans – welders,
plumbers, mould-makers, structural engineers etc. we will be able to stimulate
a high level skilled, intellectual and philosophical approach to creative
industry stimulating new areas of manufacture. These individuals would then return
to their bases, developing a new, more creative and progressive practice that
will transform the quality and aesthetics of their artisanal or engineering
production. I am proposing a product
based on a philosophical approach that sees community spaces not as a backdrop
but locations of interaction and the connectivity among people.
· This project
would also develop a new awareness of the significance of the use of art and
design in public spaces and the economic and social potential of this for the entire
society.
· This project
also reinforces the need for indigenous creativity and can explore the
potential of economic viability of local artisanal production
· Provides new
possibilities for economic diversification based new developments in local artisanal
production thus generating new avenues of sustainable employment.
Sources of Additional Funding
Plans
are in train for approaching the local corporate sector especially through
their Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes for their support as well as
international art funding organisations.
The support of the state would also be sought especially for the initial
presentation event.
Additional Comments.
DESIGNING THROUGH MEMORY.
The question of how we design through memory. Is one of the highlights of this project. We will have a constructed platform, of real time data for developing a mechanism through which memory design can become a design paradigm in architecture, planning and design.
Resources Required and their Costs
References
Susan
Linn (2008). The Case for Make-Believe:
Saving Play in a Commercialized World, New York, The New Press
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