A Public Artwork for Pelham Square, Brighton: An artist’s brief

 

Pelham Square is surrounded by residential buildings and bounded on one side by the busy commercial thoroughfare of Trafalgar Street. The Square attracts a multitude of users whose use of the square is sometimes in conflict: this project was part of a participatory arts project for Pelham Square. I aimed to address topographic and social issues concerning the Square. This involved preliminary research, which lead to the creation of an artist’s brief. I gave a PowerPoint presentation of my findings summarised in the Research Conclusion.

There is only one entrance to Pelham Square from the main road, Trafalgar St and it is open between the hours of 9am and 6pm. The houses surrounding on three sides form a cul-de-sac. A café and small shops also overlook it. There is not a consistent movement of people through Pelham Square. It is not used as a thoroughfare but rather a pit stop. Therefore, there is no cause for people to cut through the square. There are several thresholds onto the space from the surrounding houses: the steps down from the houses, the pavement, the road, the on street parking and the gates enclosing the square.

The Square is used by a cross-section of people, using it for a variety of reasons. People usually enter the square to eat their lunch, make phone calls, smoke, let their children run around, have a break from shopping, outdoor drinking and drug usage. There is little interaction between these groups occupying different sections of the same space. Patterns of activity are usually concentrated to certain areas according to the different user groups and times of day. Many seek privacy towards the back of the square near the vegetation, obscuring their visibility from the main road. In addition to the social function of the space, some people use it to support a sense of territorial ownership especially young people and marginalized groups. The colonisation of this public space and the concentration of activity in the square need to be addressed. How an intervention in this space may encourage social interaction, greater circulation and dispersal of activity as well as attract new inhabitants is central to the development of the project.

In formulating a brief for an artist/group to follow it is important that the individual needs of the user groups occupying Pelham Square are taken into consideration. It would be counterproductive to favour aspirations belonging to one group over another. If certain marginalized groups feel a sense of ownership towards Pelham Square this shouldn’t be altered but used as a starting point. It is important that we work to enable cohabitation and interaction between all user groups in the working process. Initially, the simple landscaping of Pelham Square may instigate this. As we know from our observations of the patterns of activity and movement of people in and around the square, it is firstly not used as a thoroughfare, a means to get from A to B. A variety of people use it for different means, short and long stays, contemplation and relaxation. Looking at the space from a topographic vantage point, a possible considered route could be a simple crescent shaped walkway leading us from the entrance round and back again. This would encourage circulation, free up seating opportunities and disperse the concentration of activity in the Square.