Playshapes will transform the town into a giant hands-on playground
Children playing with the Playshapes installation(Image: Playshapes)
Families visiting Blyth this August will have the chance to experience an award-winning interactive artwork that encourages creativity, imagination and play. From August 11 to 16, Playshapes will transform the town into a giant hands-on playground, giving both children and adults the opportunity to create their own sculptures, obstacle course, towers and imaginative structures within the Market Pavilion.
Designed by Leeds-based contemporary artist Pippa Hale, Playshapes is made up of large precision-cut foam cubes that can be taken apart into a variety of shapes including beams, steps, triangles, curved sections and platforms. There are no limits, instructions, right or wrong way to play as visitors simply build whatever they can imagine before the next group takes over and lets their imagination run wild.
Playshapes started as an art installation called ‘Play Rebellion’ in 2019 at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. The colourful installation was inspired by the works of renowned sculpture Isamu Noguchi and the educational play objects known as Froebel Gifts, encouraging exploration of shape, colour and three-dimensional space through open-ended play.
It was also a response to Pippa’s own experience as a parent of young children and her frustration with fixed play equipment. As a child, Pippa had the freedom of the countryside in the Midlands, running among fields and hay bales, using her creativity and imagination to fuel her own play.
Children playing with the Playshapes installation(Image: Playshapes)
Unlike traditional playground equipment, Playshapes has no fixed design or outcome. The artwork constantly changes as visitors work together to create new structures that are safe to climb, explore and enjoy.
This is very different from her usual work as an artist, as Pippa usually works with historical venues to create site specific art. With her own experience with young children in soft plays with fixed play design and taking them to galleries where art was to look but not touch, Pippa wanted to find the middle ground, in her own words ‘playable art’.
Pippa said: “It’s an opportunity for kids to play with colour, form and scale and it’s amazing watching children build.” Play is an important part of how we develop and learn skills, not just motor skills but also social skills.
The installation was put away two weeks before lockdown but was brought back to the North East in Eldon Square in the summer of 2022 and has since popped up all over including currently being on show at Castle Howard in Yorkshire and a permanent play area in the National Railway Museum in York.
Children playing with the Playshapes installation(Image: Playshapes)
Pippa said: “What surprised me most was how popular it was. At the Baltic there were 45,000 visitors to the installation in three months. When we popped up in Old Eldon Square the slots were time and there were queues of people who kept coming back day after day. It showed there was a need and a desire for it.” With no protocol, the blocks and building are limited only y the imagination of the families playing with them.
The most important thing for Pippa is that families and children use the space to unleash their creativity and allow themselves to physically interact with one another, creating memories and social interactions they may not have otherwise done. Another important thing for Pippa is the location of the Playshapes, encouraging visitors into the town centre.
She said: “It gets people into the town centres, which I believe are vibrant convening spaces to meet people. The more we do that the more we realise we have in common with one another.” Mayor of Blyth Town Council, Councilor Mark Peart, said: “We’re delighted to bring Playshapes to Blyth as part of our summer programme. It’s a fantastic opportunity for families to enjoy free creative play together while experiencing an internationally recognised piece of interactive public art. Every visit will be different because every structure is created by the imagination of the people taking part.”
Playshapes will be available for everyone and free to enjoy in Blyth from 11th to 16th August with visitors encouraged to drop in, build, play and let their imaginations take over and it’s great for mams and dads too.