Lazarain Gerald
To make a swing,
surprise in the city?

Commisioning designers to create swings?

Gerald
Lazerian created a computer model of a dog and then into a flat layout, where a DIY version was handed out to over 100 artists to be decorated and designed.
These will then travel to exhibit around the world

why not do this with swings?
swings around the city?
swings on route?

Upon our urban gardening adventure, we got chatting to a young adult who when we asked what he would like to see around Manchester he replied with swings. This got me thinking, I think that it would be a fabulous project, swings are fun, and singular in a city, they are out of place. The perfect surprise.

At the beginning of this project upon having the lecture on previous design festivals, as mentioned earlier on my blog the thing that i really liked was the shop window project in the Eindhoven Festival where they had a singular seat opposite the display encouraging you as well as coming in to the shop to buy, to sit outside and observe it like an exhibition, the cross over between art and design is fascinating. Why not do this with swings?

Obviously they would not be appropriate for all times and ages and may have to be accompanied by alternative seating also. But I really do believe it could be something beautifully fun, engaging and practical.
We could commission various Manchester based designers and design groups and artists to. A collaboration of all disciplines. It could be something that we do like how Lazarian went about their project, by creating an initial model and looking for designer/artists responses to that.

In response to this I attempted to make a swing. It is far from useable and incredibly badly put together with bad resources but I wanted to have a go.