The People’s Palace of Possibility
The Bare Project
All utopian projects have an origin story. This is ours.
Once upon a time, on our way elsewhere, we found a large box. Inside we found lots of old cassette tapes, blueprints and a bundle of mismatched cutlery. At the top of one of the blueprints was a title which read ‘The People’s Palace of Possibility’.
We have started to rebuild this Palace, and we want your help.
The Palace is an outdoor installation which asks how we find energy for change, despite our fear and anger about the future. It is rooted in utopias. The mystery of the utopias which have gone before, become misplaced, or gone wrong. And in the impulse for escape; for doing something radically different from life as we know it.
The Palace is nomadic and always growing. Right now it has a radio station, a kitchen, a pantry, and an escape hatch. The Palace is added to and animated by people wherever it goes. In Mallon Gardens it will host weaving with Shelia Ghelani, clay modelling with Becky Lyon, poetry readings, and audio artworks from Land Body Ecologies and Farmarama.
Join us for a feast, a conversation, and a howl of rage this June.
After this residency we’ll be heading north to Caithness (Highlands, Scotland), to Rotherham, and then to the Isle of Wight. We will be in each place for a month and hope to find moments of exchange between each.
Part of What Shall We Build Here, Artsadmin’s festival of art, climate and community from 28 June – 2 July 2023.
What’s in the space?
This is an outdoor installation consisting of a 4.5m diameter dome, with three sheds (The Palace Pantry, The Palace Radio & The Escape Hatch) and some seating areas around the edges of the space. The dome space in the centre will often have a table within it hosting workshops. Here is a technical drawing of the space:
The doors of the Palace Radio and the Escape Hatch are too narrow for wheelchair access, however all activity within the Palace Radio is visible and adaptable from outside the space.
What takes place in The People’s Palace of Possibility?
This is a drop-in installation open for as long or as brief a stay as you like. There are numerous seating areas and space to rest.
There is a 10 minute audio journey which we recommend to start the experience, which will also be available in written text form. It is self-guided and can be done from a bench, or whilst walking.
There are a number of ‘rooms’ in the Palace, each of which offer a different interactive activity. There are roughly six different activities. Two, the Radio and the Pantry are primarily audio-based and do not have captioning / text versions.