From congestion, to social equality, to pollution, to transport networks, Recife like most modern cities, faces many challenges. Through a creative exchange, Recife The Playable City set out examine how the combination of technology and play, could tackle some of these challenges and make a difference to people’s lives.
Produced by Watershed in collaboration with Porto Digital and the British Council, the exchange brought together creative practitioners from Pernambuco (Brazil) and the UK, to participate in a residential lab that spanned Bristol and Recife. Working together, they developed new ideas that used art and technology to engage and inspire citizens. The programme culminated in a public sharing of ideas in Recife in April 2014, which was attended by over 500 people.
“To bring all those people together – I think that’s the best thing about the whole initiative. It’s great to have creative people from different fields and cultures working together to come up with something new.” Participant comment
Made by the fantastic Ton Ton Films, the short film below features documentation of the labs in Bristol and Recife, thoughts from partners and participants, and footage from the Showcase event.
The exchange was part of the British Council’s Transform programme and was supported by Arts Council England, Fina Produção, Lighthouse, Cornerhouse, Site Gallery, National Theatre Wales, Recife’s Secretary of Economic Development, UFPE (Pernambuco’s Federal University), the Gilberto Freyre Foundation, Recife’s City Council, Fundaj, VOXAR Labs, and CESAR (Recife Centre for Advanced Studies and Systems).
Read blogs from the 2014 programme here.
