Park Royal Design District (PRDD) bring London Design Festival back to the borough
PRDD are running all activities for the Park Royal district of London Design Festival for the fifth year. This festival within a festival is a two day event within the wider London Design Festival, helping to put a spotlight on Park Royal’s creative community.
- London Design Festival at Park Royal Design District
- 13th-14th Sept, 11-5pm
- Free!
We spoke to Grace Williams, Programme Director, to find out why the festival is so important to her and the local community.
Why is the festival important?
The festival is great for Park Royal, because although we have over 250 artists, makers and designers within a very small footprint – the area is not very well known among wider Londoners. PRDD brings people from all over the city, and beyond to discover what happens behind the closed industrial-looking doors. In addition to that, being part of the event, brings together all the creatives from lots of different disciplines and creates a real sense of community. Many of them spend a lot of time working alone in their studios or with small teams. These events offer them the chance to meet their neighbours and have fostered some brilliant collaborations.
What’s in it for the locals?
About a third of our visitors come from Ealing, and it’s a great chance for residents to discover talent on their doorstep – as well as take part in creative workshops and activities too. There are also exhibitions, demos and walking tours, with the chance to peek inside food factories and find out about the history of the area. Everyone who visits for the first time is always thrilled to discover such a variery of interesting businesses and projects locally – and often come back or get involved on a more regular basis.
What do you recommend?
One of the best things to do, to make the most of your day, is take part in one of our workshops. We have lots of hands-on sessions available, from carpentry, to bookbinding, ceramics and even music production. Many activities are free to drop into and suitable for all ages – but some are ticketed and need to be booked in advance. A particular highlight for me is Lucy Algar’s Drawing Performance Project – held at Klatch Studios. This is a really unique experience, where participants will collaboratively, draw and create a collaborative piece inspired by live professional dancers. The drawings will then be used to create costumes for a final performance. For those interested in sustainable building design, we also have a live-build of a new community hut in North Acton Square, which is being made from reclaimed wood and straw by ReCollective and Social Designs. Visitors can book into workshops to learn basic cladding and plastering skills and help to finish off the hut!
What else can we expect?
Lots of exhibitions, a market with craft, art and delicious street food for sale… plus a great party on Saturday night – all are welcome!
11 Million Dots by Rafael El Baz
A major highlight of the Park Royal Design District’s programme is 11 Million Dots, one of Europe’s largest artworks created by artist Rafael El Baz in close collaboration with the local community. El Baz recorded ambient noise, machinery sounds, and over 120 audio interviews before transforming these sounds into a striking visual language that spans the six-story facade of Vantage Data Centers’ LHR21 facility.
The project was produced by art consultancy Loom Projects, who ran a competitive tender, inviting local artists to propose ideas for the façade. Raf’s project was selected, partly because it involved collaborations with local residents and businesses – creating an audio archive or time-capsule of the area to last for many years to come. The pattern itself, which was created from hese audio-files, is made from perforated holes of different sizes in the standard metal cladding panels – making the artwork a more sustainable choice than using paints or other finishes.
Loom is proud to present this a great example of collaboration between major infrastructure, developers, architects and the local artist community. We hope this project acts as a catalyst, inspiring other developers and planning authorities to commission ambitious and meaningful art projects within their schemes – particularly with Park Royal at the heart of large-scale regeneration currently.
