In partnership with Wanchai District Council, the British Council Hong Kong invited UK designer Thomas Heatherwick and urban regeneration specialist Fred Manson to lead on the public art project at Southorn Playground. The project is about enhancing public spaces through the use of art. Art in public spaces is about making art for the benefit of the people, the community who uses it. It is not about putting a pretty sculpture in a public space for people to simply look at and admire. Instead, it is about establishing a relationship with the community and improving the quality of the environment. The project will strive to create a public art intervention in Southorn Playground, Wanchai, which will meet the community's needs and address the cultural complexities of the area. It is hoped that the project will serve as a model of community participatory approach in public art in Hong Kong. In summary, the project's objectives include:
- making changes so people will want to use it
- making improvements that people will benefit from
- bringing it up to date so that it has new relevance as Wanchai's main square in the past, present and future, and
- making the playground a public art in its own right.
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