About the project
Westwood Encounters was a series of three projects that took place over summer 2023. It was all about having fun, being outside, and something that men and young people could take part in. Our Westwood community panel chose three projects. We worked with Sam Roddan, Black & White Creative, Laura Collins and Ryan Bailey. You can read more about what each artist got up to below. The project culminated in an outdoor picnic and cake parade (yep!) in the field by the shops in the centre of Westwood.
How it was received
It was a great summer of fun! This was our first time trying something for specific ages and genders in one of our neighbourhoods, and we learnt loads about the neighbourhood and its people. We had people stumble across the activities on their way home from school, who enjoyed it so much, they came back for more! We also learnt that in Westwood, doing pop-up outdoor stuff is successful, as the playpark and the shops are always busy.
In numbers…
- 4 creative projects
- Over 50 pebbles
- 5 tiers on the giant cake
- Hundreds of participants
In words…
“My 2 children really enjoyed all the activities that were available. Fabulous to have this on our doorstep and for free. :)”
“WE DID HAT MAKING / CAKES / PICNIC / ART Stuff. Was Great.”
“A great time to do activities with family and try new bits.”
Meet The Artists and Projects
Black and White Creative – After School Paint Sesh
Artists Nikki Goldup and Keith Hopewell hosted a series of after school paint sessions in the alleyway by the shops and on the field. People got to have a go with spray paint and poscas, decorating a giant tarpaulin to make a big community artwork, as well as a series of plane sculptures, which were a reference to the heritage of Westwood as a former RAF base. At the picnic, Nikki and Keith also ran some baseball cap customising, next to the display of planes and artworks.
Sam Roddan – Father’s Day Scavenger Hunt and Cake Parade
Sam Roddan hosted two parts to the Westwood Encounters project. First, she designed a neighbourhood scavenger hunt for Father’s Day. Taking inspiration from local residents, stories, and architecture, Sam created a series of illustrations which also transformed into a DIY cardboard sculpture. At the scavenger hunt, we set up stations around the fields in the centre of Westwood. The clues of how to find each scavenger hunt station were things like names of streets and clues about the neighbourhood’s design.
Sam also ran a series of cake-topper making workshops, which can only really be described as like edible playdoh! People of all ages made sculptures out of icing sugar, which formed the toppers of a giant 5-tier cake, which was paraded through the centre of Westwood as the star of the community picnic.
Laura Collins and Ryan Bailey – Westwood Community Poem
As part of this project, we also had an “early career” commission, which was awarded to local creatives Laura and Ryan. It was their first time collaborating together. Laura is a poet and writer, and Ryan is a filmmaker. Together they came up with the idea to create a community poem and film. At each of the pop-up workshops, Laura and Ryan set up a pebble painting station, where people could decorate a pebble with a word that meant something to them about Westwood. From there, Laura and Ryan created a lovely short poetry film, which was played on loop inside Stafford Hall during the picnic party.
