The People's Tower Comes To Wandsworth
Residents invited to help build fantastical cardboard structure
Wandsworth residents and Burntwood School students will help build and demolish a giant, fantastical cardboard building this month, as the latest project from Circulate, London’s flagship outdoor touring consortium kicks off in Wandsworth.Earlsfields' Tara Arts will be bringing the work of internationally renowned artist Olivier Grossetête to South London this month, as people from the local community are invited to help build a unique, temporary and impressive new tower constructed entirely from tape and cardboard.
Inspired by the architecture of Gaudi Batllo House in Barcelona, the Musgum mud huts of Cameroon and the iconic Burntwood tree, this one-off design will be both realised and demolished in just one day, marking the latest in a series of work from Circulate – a London-wide network of cultural organisations established to build on the success of London 2012's cultural festival.
People interested in contributing to the build can sign up to join Burntwood school students in assembling sections of the tower, set to alter the skyline of Earlsfield over the course of just one day. The work is the latest in a series of cardboard creations by Grossetête whose designs have been realised all over the world. UK projects including constructions at Glastonbury Festival (2013), Torquay Festival (2013) and Merchant City Festival in Glasgow (2012).
Jonathan Kennedy, Executive Director of Tara Arts, said: “As Tara Arts new theatre starts to emerge above ground on Garratt Lane in readiness for our opening at the end of 2015, we are delighted to be working with French artist Olivier Grossetête and Burntwood School in Earlsfield to create a glorious, impressive cardboard building. Olivier has worked all over the world in town squares and festivals and we look forward to welcoming him to south London in May.”
With over 35 years of experience, Tara Arts are established as leading creators of cross-cultural theatre. Their work, which consists of both new writing and reimagined classics, seeks to make imaginative connections across communities, to help foster a global sensibility from their own locality. The company was founded in 1977 by Artistic Director Jatinder Verma, along with Sunil Saggar, Ovais Kadri, Praveen Bahl & Vijay Shaunak.
Olivier Grossetête is a French visual artist who lives and works in Marseille. Olivier has built an international reputation for his extraordinary work where he uses the recovery of cartons, cardboard boxes and office rubbish to create installations. A visual artist working in the outdoors Olivier with local participants plays with words, shapes, weight, volume and recycled materials to create his magical temporary buildings.
Circulate is an outdoor touring network of theatres and arts organisations, funded for three years by ACE Strategic Touring, building on the success of London 2012's cultural festival.
Event Details
Saturday 23rd May 2015, 9am – 7pm
Burntwood School, Burntwood Lane, London SW17 0AQ It's FREE to register to help make the building on Saturday 23rd go online to book www.tara-arts.com
May 20, 2015