ABSTRACT
Summer 2014 in Central London and it is pouring with rain. A summer fair by the Thames in the ward of South Westminster, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament is a wash-out, but still people come. The event is a riot of colour and activ ity includ ing two tents that feature drawing materi als, sound record ers and video cameras. ‘Draw the change you want to see’, visit ors to these tents are urged, ‘design a video game to improve your community’, the attend ant artists say to inter ested famil ies and passers-by. Some stop and sit down; they draw a lack of open space, the closure of public services, the pollu tion of the roads and rivers, the growth of second homes and the decline in afford able prop erty and the rental market in the area. As they draw they talk together about their places and communit ies, they worry in unison over the common prob lems and chal lenges they face and they strategise ways to help make their urban space a more live able, happier and more prac tical place to live. After they have finished their draw ings some go on their way, others join the group of artists in the Tate Gallery the follow ing week to see the draw ings on display and play the video games that have been made from their discus sion of the problems of their communities and the alternative futures they imagine for them.
