The Spontaneous Space Challenge

Londonderry architect designer Joanna Doherty created a talking point at the Verbal Arts Centre last week by building an arch using 99 palettes as part of the Spontaneous Space Challenge.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Sep 2013, 16:01 BST
The arch, with integral seating, that was crated at eh Verbal Arts Centre last week.The arch, with integral seating, that was crated at eh Verbal Arts Centre last week.
The arch, with integral seating, that was crated at eh Verbal Arts Centre last week.

The aim was to challenge the connection of palettes with sectarian bonfires.

With 99 palettes salvaged from various scrapyards and building sites, the group spent three intense days meticulously planning, designing and building an eight foot high palette archway which people could then walk through and even had some seating inside. They then invited the public to enjoy the new space with a grand unveiling taking part on Friday evening with the archway open to the public on Saturday before it was taken down again.

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Joanna, originally from the Abercorn Road of the city, was thrilled with the outcome: “It was a full on, exciting experience as we fought against the clock to get this ready in time but I am over the moon with the result and would like to thank the volunteers for their incredible effort as I could not have done this without them. We wanted to create a temporary art piece that people could enjoy while also challenging preconceptions and I hope, to some extent we achieved that.”

Joanna was inspired to take on the project after initially looking to get involved in 72 Hour Urban Action, an urban architecture competition that was planned to come to the city this summer but has been postponed until 2014.

“I loved the concept of 72 Hour Urban Action, transforming run down or disused areas through temporary interventions, and was really disappointed when I learnt that it had been postponed so when Voluntary Arts Ireland offered some support for my idea I jumped at the chance.”

Kevin Murphy, Chief officer of Voluntary Arts Ireland said: “The effort and dedication from Joanna and her team was nothing short of amazing. The fact that none of the volunteers had any previous building experience made their achievement all the more remarkable. This project is a prime example of local people building on the creative energy of 2013 to create something special.”

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The Spontaneous Space Challenge was supported by Our City of Culture, an initiative of Voluntary Arts Ireland and the Verbal Arts Centre which invites local people to put on creative events or performances in during 2013.

Anyone interested in putting on an event, or finding out more, contact Tony Carlin, Voluntary Arts Ireland Information Officer, on 028 7127 2501.

Related topics:Kevin Murphy