During our long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign against the Kensington Academy and Leisure Centre development on Lancaster Green, we were fiercely critical of the entire project which we regarded as gross overdevelopment involving the destruction of essential greenspace on a totally inappropriate site. We have not changed our opinion on this. We were also highly critical of the Council’s decision to allocate an inappropriately large budget for the creation of artwork to enhance the new public realm surrounding and intrinsic to the KALC development. We have not changed our opinion on this either.
However, having witnessed the fantastic work of artist in residence Constantine Gras, especially with local children, we feel compelled to acknowledge, celebrate and marvel at, what this man, and the children he has been working with, have accomplished together. We strongly recommend to any of our readers who have not yet done so, that you take the time to visit the blog of this artist, enjoy the artwork he created with these children, and the photographs, video and text that document his work here so far:
Picture in words
Live, laugh, love
Grenfell Tower.
Flags.
I love you England and Morocco.
Clip, clop.
Horses hooves
Poo and pee.
Three, four, five, six, seven.
Ground floor, 2nd floor.
The movements of a lift.
An elephant, rhinoceros and giraffe
Came to Grenfell tower
For the day.
Flowers.
Free Syria.
Lionel Messi is the best.
Live, laugh, love
Grenfell Tower.
During his residency at Lancaster West Constantine is also working on a film portrait about local residents, what it means to live on the Royal Borough’s largest estate, and various views about changes taking place in the area. He is currently undertaking detailed audio interviews with a range of people connected to the past and present of the estate: architects, residents and TMO staff.
He will then be inviting residents to pick up a camera and film sequences to illustrate their own perspectives. This promises to be an exciting development in his collaborative approach to film making.
Why not get involved?
http://www.grasart.com/blog/regeneration-and-art
http://www.grasart.com/blog/animal-life
Grenfell Action Group 