The People’s Palace of Possibility

The People’s Palace of Possibility asks how we find energy for change, despite our fear and anger about the future. It is about our desire to escape, and the urgent need to do something radically different. It’s a large-scale project which took place over years of work and emerged out of my PhD research into participatory performance, environmental justice and democracy.

The Palace has lived many lives. It started as an interactive installation in Theatre Deli Sheffield, as part of the Future Fantastic festival. It then toured to Warwick Arts Centre, and to Lancaster Arts.

Then, during the pandemic, The Palace had to pivot: it became a postal and online experience. Audiences were sent letters and packages of utopia-building goodies, and encouraged to enact change in their neighbourhoods.  This version ‘toured to’: Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester; Derelict, Preston; Stockton ARC; The Albany, Deptford; Old Fire Station, Oxford;  Right Up Our Street, Doncaster; and the Being Human Festival. Over 600 people took part in this phase of the project and their contributions are held within the Palace Archive.

In its most recent form (2022-2024), The Palace was comprised of a 4-metre high, brightly-coloured geodesic dome, a radio station in a potting shed, and a tiny library. So far this version has travelled to Artsadmin in East London, to Lyth Arts Centre in Caithness, Mowbray Gardens Library in Rotherham, Ventnor Exchange on the Isle of Wight, and DANUM in Doncaster. The Bare Project team stayed in each location for the best part of a month, and worked with local artists, growers, and activists. We cooked up lots of new visions for the future together, and the work continues.

For more information about this piece, visit: https://thebareproject.co.uk/work/palace/

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