Back in January we arranged an evening of ‘anti-quiz’ at Cardiff Arts Institute as part of their Future/Cardiff project. The quiz took form in several rounds of first a warm up round to get people engaged with things they might know about Cardiff, moving to rounds that encouraged the participants to think hard about what they really knew about their city, and the people they engage with – from their neighbours to Cardiff heroes (a round contributed by Dan Green from Big Little City). Other questions ranged from examining empty properties and landmarks around Cardiff and what they could be used for, and mapping great things like where they thought a difference to their community could be made, and the three best places in Cardiff they had kissed someone! (A nice time to do that, on St Dwynwen’s Day!).
The prize for the evening was ‘knowledge’ and the sharing and learning from it – all who came loved Cardiff and had many views of it and ideas for its future, whether it was based in the realms of planning, sustainable development, community building and engagement, or the Arts.
The night was attended by about 25 people, from many different backgrounds, and all were absorbed during the evening with debating the ‘answers’ amongst their teams – many of the discussions were full of memories and heart-felt love for Cardiff and how it could be improved, and how to preserve the best parts for the future – answers were not necessarily right or wrong, and the event provoked discussion, lateral thinking and laughter among the participants.
Groups came up with words to describe Cardiff ranging from beautiful, creative, friendly and vibrant to the less complimentary - decaying, unfulfilled and soulless. Ideas for unused spaces and empty buildings in the picture round (Callaghan Square and SPIN building (formerly The Gaiety) on City Road) included calls for a skateboard park, outdoor pool, work pods or food market; and for the building, a Chapter East, community centre, theatre, circus school, or mosque.
See more photos on our Flickr page – the evening’s discussions and ideas were recorded by Jordan Harrison from the University of Glamorgan, and is available now at www.jghaudio.wordpress.com.
Thanks to Geraldine Nichols for most the write up.
Why not come along to our meeting on Wednesday evenings and see how you can get involved! Click here to view our calendar.
