As we warm up to Barking and Dagenham's Bridge project in 2021, 5 artists from different disciplines worked with the Barking and Dagenham community on 4 exciting Bridge projects during autumn 2020.
Grace Duggan, Katie Peck, Jacqueline Otite, Silvano Griffith-Francis and Naomi Joseph invited the local communiy to become Bridge Explorers and take part in quests, workshops, writing, illustration and even balloon bridge building activities!
Meet the Bridge Explorer artists and participants:
Grace Duggan: Be part of our illustration
Artist Grace Duggan and illustrator Katie Peck invited local people to reflect on times they've built bridges, and turned their responses into a new illustration, telling the story of Bridge-building in Barking and Dagenham. Grace Duggan is a community artist who grew up in Barking, East London. Katie Peck is an illustrator, graphic designer and artist from East London, who graduated from UAL Central Saint Martins in 2019.
@graceduggan @katiepeckdesign @katiepeckcustoms
Image by Katie Peck
Jacqueline Otite: Build a balloon bridge
Jacqueline invited people to have fun with friends and family by building a balloon bridge! Working with CBD, balloon bridge kits were distributed about the area, which people turned into their own bridge sculptures.
Our balloon bridge-builders commented:
Thank you for the balloon bridge kit. My husband and I made it today. We are still shielding due to coronavirus and it was nice to have something different to do. We look forward to seeing other balloon bridges, including the one made by our daughter and granddaughter when they have completed it.
Janet and Alf Chipperfield.
The balloons took way longer than expected to complete, but we had fun. Leaving it to our 5-year-old to initially do on her own, she couldn't understand why the balloons kept flying off the pump and why it wouldn't blow up. Finally, the whole family got involved. It was fun, exciting and rewarding... Thank you for challenge us in something we have never done before and we are looking forward to the next craft.
Valerie
The balloon bridge for me symbolises resilience, not only in assembling it with 2 kids and a cat, but working together as a family... Our balloon sculpture is wonky, not equal and we've improvised quite a bit but the result is amazing.
Paula, Ana and Eric
It was such lovely experience to do the balloon bridge. As it takes team work I did with my kids. They really enjoyed doing it. They were laughing and shouting till we made it. Thank you so much for the effort. It decorated my house like a festival.
Saranya
Jacqueline Otite is a mother of three children and has been a resident of Barking and Dagenham for over 20 years. She is a qualified Balloon Artist and passionate about creating inspirational balloon designs. www.facebook.com/TheBalloonAcademy @TheBalloonAcademy
Silvano Griffith-Francis: Join Unity on her bridge-building Quest
Silvano Griffith-Francis created a film - Unity’s Quest - which tells the story of a girl named Unity and her dog, who are seeking to repair a bridge between two communities that has been broken by harsh, intolerant words. Silvano asked the community to share positive words and phrases that would help Unity mend the bridge.
Silvano Griffith-Francis is a play and screenwriter, actress, producer and public speaker. Silvano moved to Barking and Dagenham over ten years ago and two of her theatre shows have been presented at the Barking Broadway.
Naomi Joseph: Join Our Week of Missions!
Naomi Joseph invited the community to join her on a week of missions designed to encourage play, imagination and exploration in children and young families.
Naomi is a theatre-maker, writer and performer, with long connections to Barking and Dagenham.
Follow the Barking and Dagenham Bridge journey via our social media feeds and the Creative Barking and Dagenham website.