Kensington House Brick Project

Aim

Brick Project invite the whole city to make Kensington House explode with colour by collaboratively painting their wall one brick at a time.

Brick Project is an engaging community public art activity that works at any bricked or tiled space. An area that is usually afforded little attention and has perhaps become neglected is painted in acrylic, one brick at a time by anyone who regularly passes by the area. They are guided by paid Assistant Artists from the local community who encourage participants to express themselves in a way that renovates the space, transforming it into a colourful exhibition built by memorable positive interactions.

Kensington House is a home for people going through the final stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction run by St. Mungo’s. It is on a small residential street in St. George.  Our project is about inviting people to take collective ownership of a space through self expression. We want to democratise this process in a socially responsible way by showing that anyone can create a piece of public art they can be proud of, building respect and solidarity between the residents of Kensington House and their neighbours on Kensington Road.

In previous projects, some participants like to think outside the box and others just want to write their own name. Each participant has different needs, so we make sure everyone gets the most out of the experience of creating their work while giving advice about colours and painting techniques if they need it. If anyone is unable to participate we make sure they are represented in the project by asking them to direct a facilitator to realise their vision, adding their name to the online project when the artwork is finished.

Kensington House Brick Project will hire local artists to engage with the community to personalise their own environment one brick at a time. We want the project to reach everyone, especially people who could feel overlooked in society. We will engage with local community groups and schools so people from all walks of life including people who are facing homelessness, commuters, senior people and literally anyone else who uses or walks past the wall will feel represented in the final piece. All participants will be treated as equals and will share pride and achievement in this project. The project is open to everyone!

Brick Project always creates a buzz, so people who wouldn't normally meet in their everyday lives paint side by side and create something that links all ages and communities. In Kensington House Brick Project we will use tablets to photograph each brick as it is finished, allowing the participant to enter their name and the title of their painted brick with assistance from facilitators. We will use this data every day to update our interactive website, in which a mouse can be hovered over a brick showing the artist name and the title of their work. This website will remain active as we create new Brick Projects worldwide, meaning the site will get a lot of traffic even after the end of the project. 

The whole community of Kensington Road and the surrounding area will feel included in the refurbishment of this site and hopefully even street painters who have previously vandalised the site will participate, meaning they can make graffiti in a constructive way and won’t feel tempted to damage the completed project (which will be protected by an easy clean permanent coating). Considering that 1015 people will take part in this 7 day Brick Project session, it will become a true reflection of the diversity of ideas, histories and futures that give St George its vibrant character. Those who aren't feeling confident will be guided by the assistant artists in realising their vision. We will also tweak any bricks that are inappropriate while allowing the original composition to be recognisable by the artist. This spirit of inclusion gets everyone on board so no one will feel short changed by the finished piece.

Brick Project has been developed by two directors, Dan Petley and Fraisia Bruist-Papazian. Dan was initially inspired to start the project as an artist and community facilitator, Fraisia has joined to share her knowledge of running community organisations, developing healthy and sustainable systems and marketing and human resource skills. 

Your money will make the project possible. Creating the project takes a lot of dedicated work from local artist facilitators, so we're proud to say that paying these assistants takes up most of the budget. Of course materials are very important, including lots of paint and brushes. The budget has been streamlined over the years so we know exactly how much space can be covered, taking inevitable spills and waste into consideration. Brick Project officials will be working at the wall for 8 hours every day. Promoting the project is also important, so printing and media costs are also accounted for.

If you have any questions please ask on our official facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/brickprojectuk/

This project successfully funded on 28th February 2022