Blog

Pink, orange and green cards with writing in polish on them, clipped to a metal trellis

Understanding Local Context- Łódź, Poland

Context is everything. This couldn’t be more true in our journey to Poland to share ROOTS at a games festival focusing on ‘neighbourhoods’.  We designed ROOTS in Bristol in England. By that I mean we designed it within the social and political constructs of England.

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Newsletter: Children, design and our growing family

Newsletter February 2024 Hello! It’s Amy Rose here, and I’ll be editing the newsletter while Jenny is on maternity leave. Like Play:Disrupt’s founder and director, Malcolm Hamilton, my background is in street theatre and outdoor arts. I enjoy work that builds community and democratises public space

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Newsletter: Do games really improve engagement?

Newsletter March 2024 In this month’s newsletter Do games really improve engagement? Gamify to Clarify Upcoming Time for a new Bristol brand? Introducing Nia Play, design thinking and Free Ice Cream to map sustainable futures Gamify Everything? Do games really improve engagement? Saturday, March 23 is the

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Newsletter: Listening to children’s voice

Newsletter September 2024 Why involve children and young people in planning and placemaking? My workspace is within earshot of a local primary school where children play on their breaks. Most days, the sounds from the schoolyard provide a pleasant rhythm to my day. Other times it pulls focus;

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Newsletter: Can consultation be participation?

Newsletter September 2024 Why involve children and young people in planning and placemaking? My workspace is within earshot of a local primary school where children play on their breaks. Most days, the sounds from the schoolyard provide a pleasant rhythm to my day. Other times it pulls focus;

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Newsletter: 2024 Highlights

Here are some of our highlights from 2024 Newsletter December 2024 “It was great to engage with children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers, about the Diana Memorial playground. By watching them play, we learned so much specific detail–what

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Newsletter: What do you want to grow?

Here are some of our highlights from 2024 Newsletter December 2024 “It was great to engage with children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers, about the Diana Memorial playground. By watching them play, we learned so much specific detail–what

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A small rectangular badge with objects stuck onto it including a small elephant, button and springs. Held up by hands infront of the words Fesitval of Place

Premonitions from Festival of Place

We always enjoy attending Festival of Place, and this year we were asked to devise an activity to help connect people and break the ice after a couple of years of limited social contact.  Inspired by The Good Ancestor, by Roman Krznaric, Aileen Tatton-Brown’s future

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Help us test a new digital mapping tool

Play:Disrupt and play technologists Free Ice Cream are developing a digital mapping tool that invites users to connect with the systems that influence their places. This tool aims to build more agency for communities and individuals, while getting a clearer picture of what makes a

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Colston Road in Easton

Create As A Community

It was just over a year ago that the statue of Edward Colston was toppled in Bristol during anti-racism protests. The conversation about Coslton’s legacy in Bristol has been alive for many more years prior, relating to the statue and the many streets and buildings

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The inside of a Participation Box with multicoloured envelopes

Participation Packs

We’re all grasping for new ways to engage. Just as Zoom becomes the new normal, so video call fatigue sets in. There have been some great developments made in digital engagement, from community centres built with game engines to quickfire playful survey tools, these are

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Always Working with Artists

Play:Disrupt has grown from a theatre company. Creativity and collaboration is at its heart. Our projects can bring together storytellers, technologists, neighbourhood planners and social value experts to meet a brief. Outside of specific projects, we commission creatives to play with open invitations, to offer

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League of Creative Interventionists

Way back in the summer of 2019, when ‘got the city on lockdown’ meant nothing more than boy band ‘Blue’ sneaking into your Spotify, I was awarded a ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ grant from Arts Council England. Under the lofty title ‘Creative Interventions for Social

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The Case for Playful Engagement

Considered, well-designed community engagement is important, not just for social value and a more equitable society, but also makes better economic sense (in the long run). As has been stated, building houses is an easy area for conflict. It is a jump to a binary

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