Square Circle postcard

I will talk about a complex public art commission that I have been working on for the last three years. Set in Farnborough, a small town in the South of England, the story of this commission started in December 2004, when I was asked to explore the potential public use of a new civic space being incorporated within a new Business Park development.

I facilitated workshops & discussions, and hosted one-off events, inviting local community representatives to become members of The Square Circle, a group exploring imaginative, user-based design solutions for the landscaping of the new public space. The Square Circle proposed that a friends' group, made up of local community members, could be formed to liaise with the parks events management team, thereby facilitating public use through on-going events programming.

A prototype for how The Square Circle could work in the future, including organisational tools for potential activities, can be found on The Square Circle website. The website also holds an archive of local resources, both formal and informal, and the story of the commission as it took place from December 2004 - September 2007. Visitors are encouraged to make a speculative proposal for an event within The Square, or enjoy accounts of Farnborough's history, ecology and society as detailed in the on-line archive.

www.thesquarecircle.net