Magic Corner:A Climate-Resilient Playground

Aim

We’re transforming Manor House playground into a safer, inclusive, greener space with biodiversity, public art and resilient community.

Manor House Gardens, Taunton Rd, Lewisham, London SE13 5SU

Magic Corner is about more than renewing a playground.

It is about creating a place where children can play, imagine and connect with nature, while bringing families, artists, residents and local organisations together around a much-loved community space.

The Story Behind Magic Corner

Art Voyage Biennial CIC is a not-for-profit cultural organisation creating public art, community programmes and creative projects that connect people with the places in which they live.

The organisation is led by Tima Jam, an Iranian-born curator and cultural producer, whose work spans public art, cultural exchange and community participation across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

For Tima, Manor House Gardens is also personal. Having lived in Hither Green for many years, the park became part of her family's everyday life. She spent countless hours there with her young daughter, watching her play, grow and connect with other children and families. Experiencing the park both as a parent and cultural producer made her increasingly aware of how important these everyday public spaces are to childhood.

It also raised a bigger question:

What if improving a playground could become an opportunity to bring together play, creativity, nature and community?

That idea became Magic Corner!

From an Idea to a Community Partnership

Magic Corner builds on Art Voyage's existing relationship with Manor House Gardens. In 2025, Tima and Art Voyage delivered To Move is to Bloom by Vladimir Lalić, a permanent public artwork beside the lake, supported by Arts Council England through National Lottery Project Grants.

Magic Corner takes that relationship further, but it is not being developed by Art Voyage alone. It is a collaborative local project supported by Lewisham Council, Friends of Manor House Gardens, Glendale Services, Calico Project, Manor House Library, Pistachios in the Park, Pistachios in the Park cafe, local schools, and a growing network of local businesses, community groups and organisations.

Their involvement brings together knowledge of the park, local families, education, community engagement, landscape management and neighbourhood life. This local support is fundamental to our ambition for Magic Corner to be a project shaped with the community, rather than simply delivered to it.

Why Magic Corner?

The playground at Manor House Gardens is loved by local children and families throughout the year, but parts of the play space are now more than 20 years old.

The surfacing is deteriorating, some equipment is damaged, and the playground currently provides limited opportunities, particularly for younger children aged 2–5.

Rather than simply replacing what is there, we see this as an opportunity to rethink what the playground can offer. Children experience their surroundings through play, and we want Magic Corner to become a place where play, creativity, nature and community come together.

Alongside the essential physical improvements, the project will introduce new planting and biodiversity, permanent public art, free creative and environmental activities, and opportunities for local families and residents to participate in the transformation.

Our ambition is to create a playground that works better for children today — particularly younger children — while becoming a more imaginative and connected part of Manor House Gardens.

A Playground Connected to Nature

As part of Manor House Gardens, Magic Corner gives us an opportunity to bring more of the park's natural character into the playground itself.

Working with our project and landscape partners, we will introduce climate-resilient planting and biodiversity-supporting landscaping around the play area. When selecting surfacing and other materials, we will also consider durability, maintenance, drainage and environmental performance to help create a space that can serve the community well into the future.

Through community planting activities, children and families will have the opportunity to take an active role in this transformation and experience nature and biodiversity as part of the place where they play.

Art at the Heart of the Playground

Artist Zoe Power will develop a permanent mural for the playground, transforming an ordinary play environment into a distinctive and imaginative community space.

The artwork will respond to the natural surroundings of Manor House Gardens and create a visual connection between art, imagination and nature.

The mural will be complemented by free creative activities through which children can explore their surroundings, nature and the places they share with others.

Created With the Community

Magic Corner is being developed for and with the community that uses Manor House Gardens. Local children, parents, residents, schools and community organisations will be invited to participate through workshops, planting and creative activities, with local families and children.

Community activities will be free. By involving local people in the transformation, we hope the project creates a stronger sense of connection, pride and long-term care for the playground.

Why Are We Crowdfunding?

Transforming a public playground at this scale requires significant investment.

The overall Magic Corner project requires approximately: £96,000

We expect approximately £72,000 to be supported through Arts Council England, National Lottery Grants and private partners.

We therefore need to raise the remaining £24,000, through this crowdfunding campaign.

Every donation becomes part of a much larger investment in Manor House Gardens and the families who use it. The campaign will contribute to a defined package of physical and environmental improvements, combining playground renewal with planting, biodiversity and community participation.

Where match funding is available, your contribution may also help us unlock additional support and increase the impact of every pound raised.

How Will the Money Be Used?

Funds raised through this campaign will make a substantial contribution towards the physical and environmental transformation of the playground and its immediate surroundings.

Funding will support:

• essential playground resurfacing and improvements, with durable and environmentally responsible materials considered where appropriate;
• climate-resilient planting;
• biodiversity-supporting landscaping;
• planting materials and equipment;
• community participation and environmental activities;
• materials required for the permanent mural and creative programme; and
• project coordination required to deliver the transformation successfully.

Artist and creative practitioner fees will primarily be supported through Arts Council and other community funding, allowing crowdfunding income to make a substantial contribution towards the physical and environmental improvements to the playground.

As the final contractor and project budgets are confirmed, we will provide a clear breakdown so supporters can see how funding contributes to playground renewal, planting and biodiversity, environmental activities and other project costs.

From Playground to Magic Corner

Magic Corner began with a personal connection to a local park, but it has grown through the support of a much wider community. Together, we have an opportunity to transform an ageing play area into a place that is creative, inclusive, connected to nature and made for the children and families who use it every day.

Your support is not simply helping renew a playground. It is helping create a place where childhood memories can be made, and a community space designed with the future children will inherit in mind.

You're not just funding a playground,you're creating a place where childhood memories are made!

How you can help?

1- Donate: 

Every contribution, large or small, brings us closer to the £24,000 target and may help us unlock additional match funding.

2. Spread the word, Share the link 

Share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.

3.Take part

As the project develops, join our community workshops, creative activities and planting programme.

Together, we can turn an ageing playground into Magic Corner — a place where children can play, imagine, create, encounter nature and make memories for years to come.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 30th March 2027 at 11:59pm