Escapism
Escapism is a topic which many remain unaware of and undiscussed today, a coping mechanism for many when dealing with issues which they experience in their day to lives. I was personally interested in what it meant for me and for others when dealing with different forms of stress and pressure from society.
To understand more about the topic and what it meant for others, I realised that model making was a great engagement tool which allowed the creation of new ideas, having discussions about the subject and producing new escapism solutions. Seeing the potential in which the medium brought, the idea for a participatory model making workshop was created. Model making components were created for participants to interact with alongside a storytelling prompt to help create an objective and engagement.
To test the potential of the participatory workshop, the Collyhurst area was chosen due to signs of the neighbourhood being torn down and signs of little community activity being shown. Collyhurst community members took part in the workshop to help generate an alternative masterplan using model making. Thanks to the community engagement, discussions took place and new considerations were created by the locals who participated, creating better living conditions within their neighbourhood which were inspired by escapist ideas.
The workshop showed potential in which escapism brought to the table, challenging the spaces which exist in our environment, creating places that people can relax and distract themselves in. Using the new ideas suggested by the Collyhurst Community and from further research, a distraction hub was created, demonstrating the different ways in which people can escape. A vast number of unique environments were created varying from indoor to outdoor spaces, using manmade or natural materials in addition to digital and physical environments.
