Sharon Richards, Richard Hurford and Andrew Loretto - DONCTOPIA
A trio of artists are working with people from across Doncaster on a pilot project to discover and explore DONCTOPIA – a vision for how the new normal could be made better for everyone.
Sharon Richards, Richard Hurford and Andrew Loretto, received funding from Right Up Our Street to work on this pilot research and development project during June 2020.
Richard said: “During these disrupted times, people have a natural desire for a return to ‘normality’, but it’s also an opportunity to reflect on what ‘normal’ actually meant to us before the pandemic and to imagine how a new ‘normal’ could be made better for everyone.”
DONCTOPIA is inspired by the idea of Utopia – an imaginary perfect society – focusing on the concept of ‘Concrete Utopias’, not fantasies but blueprints for a better future. It aims to unlock the hopes and dreams of Doncaster residents and invent ways to make them a practical reality.
Sharon Richards, said: “We are pleased to be working with Right Up Our Street again to explore how creative projects can benefit our local communities at a time like this.
“DONCTOPIA aims to create an imaginary Doncaster where anything is possible and then explore how these possibilities can be translated into the reality of a better future Doncaster.
“DONCTOPIA can exist both online and in the real world through a range of creative activities delivered by its citizens, role-played by real Doncaster citizens. It will be both playful and serious-minded. Perhaps in real world Doncaster a plumber has a great plan to revolutionise primary schools; in DONCTOPIA they can become Curator of Education and find ways to put their idea into action.”
The trio are working with a small pilot team of Doncaster residents to build the first stages of the DONCTOPIA universe through online tasks involving music, stories, and extraordinary plans for outdoor spaces on the ground and in the sky.
Andrew Loretto said: “This is a really exciting research project to be working on – if it develops beyond this initial pilot stage, then I hope that the virtual DONCTOPIA and real world Doncaster will meet, realising some local dreams.
“Initially the pilot project is exploring online models of reaching participants, setting up the DONCTOPIA universe and the role-play game mechanics and ensuring that all voices can be heard.
“The funding from Right Up Our Street allows us to develop a mechanism to reach, engage and connect interested participants - online for now.
“We’ll then focus on creating and role-playing a trial DONCTOPIA Council of Kindness meeting online at the end of June with a small group of Doncaster participants to explore, test and tweak the model.”
After this pilot project, the trio will suggest possibilities of how DONCTOPIA could go ‘live’ on a much larger scale involving as many real-world Doncaster residents as possible in an ongoing creative challenge for positive change.