Tate Britain has come up with a cool way to address the modern day problem of loneliness in cities through a community garden installation titled A common ground designed by social arts practice, Something and son. The garden features fountain sculptures with voice recognition sensors is designed to instigate sociability – talking sets the fountains to flow and metaphorically sustain the life of the garden as the structures gently shepherd people together. Alongside this is a decked out greenhouse with a variety of seedlings. The summer program aims to relax users, encourage conversation, eye contact and connections with strangers in a series of workshops centered on food and sharing.
The Kimjang workshop was third in the series of workshops where a volunteer Korean shared her experience of making kimchi with others. People gathered and listened as well as actively took part in making a batch of the beloved spicy cabbage. They also, were able to pack some to take back home to allow for the fermentation process to work its magic as I learned. These workshops couldn’t have come sooner as they exemplify design as tool to bring people together, which I believe we need more of.
