Synopsis
Artist Beth Calverley was commissioned to co-create a collaborative community poem for display in and around the new development of Box Makers Yard. The poem contributes to the creation of vibrant and engaging communal spaces and encourages interaction between neighbours, visitors and the wider community.
The poem is reflective and celebratory of the culture and characteristics of both the immediate locale and the wider city catchment, and is rendered within the fabric of the site in thoughtful locations to maximise engagement.
Description
Beth Calverley engaged with the local community and sought to capture a diverse range of thoughts, feelings and words about Bristol. She drew on these responses to create a collaborative poem – a local portrait in words – that is authentic to the area and meaningful to the people that live there.
The finished poem and the process of creating it offer genuine opportunities for personal thought, reflection, enjoyment and connection.
The physical rendering of the poem is based around the concept of discovery, with each stanza being viewable in a particular place or time of day. Audiences are invited to discover the individual stanzas over a period of time, finding out about them through chance observations, or via word of mouth.
Fluid discovery of the poem encourages genuine conversation and connections in a new and developing community. The slow reveal also represents longevity, a reflection of the landlord’s commitment to the development and community.
