forest worlds festival
Central Forest Park, stoke-on-trent: July 2019
Bringing the magic of a greenfield festival to a neighbourhood park
Central Forest Park is a council-managed parkland situated in a dense residential area with easy access to Hanley city centre, public transport, cycle-ways and wheelchair accessible footpaths.
youth group. school children. community groups. volunteers. families
Young people rarely get a say in how spaces they use or activities they take part in are organised. We included young people in festival decision-making and design processes, testing their ideas with artists to develop the festival program.
Adult volunteers and artists took part in playwork training and co-creation workshops that enabled them to facilitate child-led activities. Families spread the word and created a community of shared values around childhood freedom.
free-to-access festival. sculpture. dance. graffiti. clay. den building. cooking. storytelling. poetry. drumming. sport. colour storm. play
“A perfect mix of activity and adventure, our grandchildren never stopped! From making dinosaurs from scrap cardboard to den building and discovering the lost ship they were so engaged. We hope you do it all again in 2020”
“A festival for kids by kids. The rain just made the whole experience even better. Everyone was wet, muddy, covered in clay and colour by the end. Drums were banging graffiti being sprayed, dens built, cooking done and clay sculptures on the trees”
“You introduced me to an area I am otherwise wary of...this is my first time in this park & I love it!”
“The whole family 3 generations got to go feral and play in the woods. It was wonderful”
academic research. dr jenny hallam. derby university
“many of the school children involved in the artist workshops returned to see the sculpture with their families. Their excitement in seeing their work exhibited and pride in hearing the artist speak about how they had co-created the piece was evident.” Dr Jenny Hallam ‘Using Art to reconnect children to nature’
Hallam J., Gallagher, L. (under review) “I’m not the best at art”: An exploration of children's growing sense of artistry within an outdoor, arts -based intervention Thinking, skills and creativity