Flyover Takeover Newsletter Aug16

The Maverick City
Symposium
06
ISSUE 1 AUG 2016
Urban Workbench
Project
05August & September
Events
07
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION04
STREET THEATRE03
OUR VISION02
PERFORMANCES03
Produced by We Make Places for Friends of the Flyover
Image: copyright Raysto Images
info@WeMakePlaces.org
@FlyoverLPL on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Image: copyright Raysto Images Image: copyright PSYGMON7

@FlyoverLPL on Facebook, Twitter & Instagramwww.wemakeplaces.org2
THE FLYOVER VISION
& MANIFESTO
The whole Flyover project is
driven by people, activity & desire
for a sense of local identity. We
believe that working with the
community to explore how we
engage with our streets, public
spaces & one another, we will
help Liverpool become a world-
leading example of how to create
breathing spaces for people in our
cities.
In our conversations with the city,
we are exploring how the highway
becomes a ‘shared space’, where
traffic still operates Monday to
Saturday, and on Sundays vehicles
make way for public realm. Where
events and activities simply pop
up and ‘plug in’. This approach
to democratisation of space for
culture & well-being is part of
a global movement and works
brilliantly in cities like Rio, Paris,
Bogota, Boston & New York. We’re
delighted to be doing this in one
of the greatest cities in the world.
We have planning permission for
Urban Workbench, a learning &
making space, to be sited beneath
The Flyover - read more on page 5.
We’re also working with experts in
renewable energy, investigating
how The Flyover can generate its
own energy requirements through
solar & wind, plus generate
additional energy to supply
cultural buildings nearby.
Come along, enjoy yourselves and
get involved! We have a growing
family of amazing volunteers,
each with a sense of belonging to
the project and this space in our
city (see page 7).
There are still two amazing
Flyover Takeovers to come this
summer.
It would be great to see you up
there!
Steve, Kate, Mark & Toria
Welcome to our first Flyover Takeover newsletter.
We are part-way through our summer 2016 Flyover
takeover programme; five Sundays of road closure
where the south carriageway of Churchill Way
becomes a space for everyone; a temporary stage
for performance, dance classes, gigs, urban
picnics, cyclists, walkers & the curious.
Check out pages 3 & 4 to see some of the highlights,
if you’ve not made it to one of our events yet. Image: copyright Mina Bihi
“Thumbs up from all the
young people involved
in the workshop - they
built their confidence by
trying something new &
tapped into their
latent performance side
- Boss!!”
Peloton

@FlyoverLPL on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram 3www.friendsoftheflyover.org.uk
CULTURE &
COMMUNITY
ON & AROUND
THE FLYOVER
Flyover Takeover 2016 has been an
opportunity for us to ask a question; what do
you want the Flyover to be? This summer we
are testing it as a community and cultural
venue, as well as exploring the concept of
closing the south carriageway to traffic on
Sundays regularly in the future.
When we began
exploring our plans for
The Flyover we asked
the local community
what they felt our
priorities should be
and 85% of people felt
community & cultural
events should be at
the heart of what we
do. Our response
was to develop the
Flyover Takeover, and
as we created the
programme of events
this feedback was at
the forefront of our
minds.
As the space becomes
an animated walkway
connecting North
Liverpool to the
Waterfront, our
Takeover Sundays
have created a shared
community events
space for local people,
as well as visitors
to the city. We are
inviting both artists &
the public to occupy
this unique & inspiring
space and to view
the city differently,
claiming the space as
a new cultural venue
for the future.
To understand both
the opportunities
& limitations of the
space, we’re working
in partnership with
others, programming
the best in local
& national artists
across music, street
arts, participatory &
community focused
events & workshops.
This allows us to
experiment with
differing art forms &
scales of work.
We are creating a
space in which artists,
dancers, musicians,
street performers
and audiences can
interact differently to
the way they would
in a theatre or arts
space and creating a
cultural programme
that demonstrates
how arts and culture
connects directly
to positive health
& wellbeing and
placemaking in our
city.
Another key part of
our work has been to
run workshops within
and for the local
community, working
in Everton Park, the
Breckfield Centre and
The World Museum so
far, with more venues
and events to come.
“It’s moved me in a way nothing else
has. I would never have believed a
wordless story could speak so
forcefully to me......now I’m motivated
to take my life in the direction the
performance took. Thank You”
“I really enjoyed
the dance class - it
was so nice to see
everybody having
fun &
socialising and
I was surprised
that people walk-
ing past joined in
and gave it their
all. The atmos-
phere was bril-
Acrojou
performing Frantic
MoveMe Dance
I Feel Good dance class

@FlyoverLPL on Facebook, Twitter & Instagramwww.wemakeplaces.org4
This year we’ve built
the foundations of
many partnerships
with cultural
organisations &
producers in the
region, establishing
a framework for
future collaboration.
The result will be
increased artistic
interventions & new
opportunities for
co-programming & co-
commissioning. We
are developing similar
partnerships across
the Social Enterprise
& Community sectors
as it is here in our
local communities
that we see the
impact of our work
being embedded.
Partners we have
worked with so far
include Sustrans,
who not only
sponsored our
July 31st Takeover,
but also brought
volunteers & experts
to demonstrate
bike powered
smoothie machines,
pocket park design
& ran workshops
in the Breckfield
Centre followed by
their Flight of the
Bikes. The World
Museum have been a
fantastic neighbour,
supporting us & our
artists practically and
we look forward to
collaborating with
them more fully on
our next programme.
Peloton are a great
local social enterprise
that we’ve been
working with to
encourage cyclists
to get involved in
our programme.
They supported our
workshop in Everton
Park, encouraging
the young people
they work with to
get involved, and
they also bring their
Bike Lads box to our
Takeover days.
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP
ARTIST PROVOCATEURS
We want local residents to develop their
sense of ownership of the space by playing
an active role in our ongoing artistic
programme as we embed cultural activity
in the long-term planning for The Flyover
and it’s role as a car free space on Sundays.
The Provocateurs are: Andrew Small - a
Liverpool based artist & sculptor interested
in the relationship between art & design
in the context of shared public & private
space. Lorna Rees - an artist, musician,
director, performer, producer & designer/
maker. With her company Gobbledegook
she specialises in pieces for the outdoors
or in unusual spaces. Luke Jerram - who’s
multidisciplinary practice involves the
creation of sculptures, installations & live
arts projects which have excited & inspired
people around the globe. Mina Bihi - a
Liverpool based photographer who creates
beautifully crafted imagery that pushes the
boundaries of photographic expression.
Her style is a fusion of fine art & social
reportage, and always adventurous!
Bicycle Ballet
workshop in Everton Park
Image: copyright Raysto Images
Previous work by Andrew Small Previous work by Lorna Rees
Previous work by Luke Jerram Previous work by Mina Bihi
During Flyover Takeover 2016, 4 artists - a sculptor, photographer,
theatre practitioner & an installation artist are working with
communities in local neighbourhoods to shape content for events
& installations during for next year’s programme.
Some moments from our recent Flyover Takeover events

In a major coup, not just for We
Make Places, but for Liverpool as
a city, we are the owners of Wiki
House 4.0 a 2-storey digitally cut
house, and have secured Planning
Consent to erect it & 2 containers
as storage & workshop facilities
beneath The Flyover.
Developed by Architecture 00 and
Arup with the Building Design
Centre, this flat-pack housing
solution enables communities
to self-build swiftly & affordably,
with only a handful of people,
in a process that can be learnt
extremely quickly by the
unskilled.
Our Wiki House will offer a
sheltered learning space and
demonstrator for a cutting edge
community self-build process.
This will be complemented by
shipping container enclosures
& external terraces which will
provide the facilities and space
for this unique community
construction training resource.
Delivering skills for shaping
homes, places & communities
Urban Workbench is a
learning hub for individuals
& communities looking for
new skills, to deliver self-
build projects or get involved
in grass roots regeneration.
It will enable individuals &
communities to take control of
shaping & making their places,
whether simply picking up DIY
skills or physically delivering
& managing neighbourhood
projects.
Uniquely the Urban
Workbench facility will offer
‘Wiki production’; manufacture
of digitally cut (open source)
components to produce
anything from a kitchen stool
to a whole house.
Practical skills development
will be complemented by
workshops which support
grass roots regeneration;
exploring topics including how
to galvanise stakeholders,
political negotiation, raising
funding, project management
& social enterprise.
URBAN
WORKBENCH
FIRST UPCYCLING PROJECT BY
URBAN WORKBENCH PARTICIPANTS
“It’s an amazing space,
with huge skies & unique
views over the city.
The development strategy
is incredibly exciting for
Liverpool, & it’s brilliant
that it’s citizen led - an
entirely new way to
reframe public space.”
Karen Poley - artist
One of the first Urban Workbench
projects will be the construction
of the facility itself!
From here, local people will to
develop skills in DIY, furniture
making, up-cycling & construction,
help us build elements for this
space & learn skills in positive
community activism.
Our focus is not on formal
construction apprenticeships
or qualifications, but working
with a combination of Established
Independent Makers/Innovators,
Skilled Tinkerers, Would Be
Tinkerers and Newbies. The
context and methods of learning
delivery and live projects will
offer a ‘holistic’ approach to skills
development. Our main goals are:
• for Urban Workbench to be
a catalyst for people to
participate more in practically
shaping their surroundings &
neighbourhoods
• Individuals to gain new skills
to support re-entry or entry
to the job market or self
employment
• Individuals to increase self
confidence
• Benefits to mental &
physical health of
participants
• Participants can choose
between formal skills or
skills for life
• Referral pathways will lead
to opportunities in further
learning or employment
made more possible with funding from

Temporary
Autonomous Zone Luxembourg
Todo Por La Praxis (Spain)
Gasgoland project
Casgoland (Netherlands)
www.wemakeplaces.org6
On Friday 24th June
we held a Cultural
Symposium which
provided an inspiring
insight into a growing
movement of artists,
designers & activists
demonstrating
powerful approaches
to co-creating
spaces & places and
delivering grass-
roots projects &
provocations in
communities across
Europe
An inspiring selection
of speakers from
the Netherlands,
Spain & the UK, each
demonstrated how
they are creating
change & responding
to issues in their
cities, challenging
traditional notions
of top-down
regeneration.
Questions of
community & place-
making are at the
forefront of We
Make Places’ work
& with dwindling
civic finances to
create & manage
public spaces,
widening socio-
economic divides,
crises of migration
& increasing
homelessness, we
feel an urgency to
explore agile, creative
solutions.
We brought the best
international minds
together with leading
practitioners in our
city to discuss this.
BE AN EARLY BIRD
We are excited to announce
that The Maverick City will
be back in 2017 and we’re
releasing Early Bird tickets
now which you can book at
www.themaverickcity.org
or via Brown Paper Tickets
The event will take a slightly
different format next year,
offering you more ways to
engage:
Fri 23rd June – Symposium
Sat 24th June – Project Visits
& Community Build Project
Sun 25th June – Community
Build Project
In addition we will have a
programme of outreach
and education events in the
6 weeks leading up to the
Symposium and will hold an
exhibition to showcase the
ideas and visions that local
residents and school pupils
have for public space in their
neighbourhoods and their
city.
Clare Hearty reflects on attending The Maverick City
As a Europhile left
devastated by the EU
referendum result, it
was great to spend the
24th June at the truly
European Maverick
City event, covering
projects in Spain,
the Netherlands and
Albania to name a
few. Toria of We Make
Places summarised
the theme for the day
as ‘anything about
me, without me, is
not for me’ and we
discussed the idea of
copyleft (favouring
the rights of the user
above the creator),
and ways to engage
with communities to
give them what they
truly need, through
initiatives as diverse
as digital hacking
of public spaces,
recycling, self-built
houses and making
hidden communities
visible.
While all the projects
impressed me, my
favourites were
Cascoland’s
regeneration of
the Kolenkit area
of Amsterdam and
regeneration of the
Westergas factory.
I liked the way both
projects developed
organically by artists
spending time in a
community to discover
what it needed, then
developing a strategy
to deliver this.
The day also raised
some interesting
questions on how
to get projects off
the ground when
local authorities are
resource poor. The
‘El Barrio es Nuestro’
[The Neighbourhood
is Ours] initiative by
‘Todo por la praxis’
is a prime example:
it started out as a
cultural resistance
movement, but has
now been embraced by
the council and a legal
framework is being set
up, showing that what
starts as a revolt can
end up being accepted
& endorsed.
It was also great
to hear how online
spaces like Temporary
Autonomous Zones &
Grrr collective enable
activists to engage &
collaborate online, and
blend built & digital
environments. Free
software & shared
blueprints make it
easier than ever to
reproduce and learn
from community
engagement projects
elsewhere.
The message I took
away from the day is
that the best way to
give people spaces they
love to use is to invest
time in discovering
what makes
communities tick and
what they need. As
activists we all have
different experiences,
skills & knowledge, so
we need to be ready
and willing to work
with others.
Events like The
Maverick City are key
to keeping s connected
& motivated, and
it certainly was an
inspiring day!
“The We Make Places team are doing
something extraordinary -
they’re reclaiming contested space,
advocating for communities and
frankly, spreading joy.”
Lorna Rees - artist

STILL TO COME
GET INVOLVED
There are many ways
you can get involved
with The Flyover whether
volunteering time or skills,
becoming a member or
spreading the good word!
VOLUNTEER
This project wouldn’t be so
amazing without the passion
& energy of our volunteers.
We’re actively seeking
volunteers to steward at
events, become guides, help
us build or plant. email us:
info@wemakeplaces.org
SPREAD THE WORD
Tell your friends &
neighbours, over the garden
fence, over a cuppa or on
social media. This project
is by people for people,
so the more folk involved
the better! Tweet about
us or share on Facebook:
@FlyoverLPL. Share our
images on Instagram:
FlyoverLPL
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO
MEET NEW CORPORATE
PARTNERS
BECOME A MEMBER
For as little as £1 be first
to hear of future events &
opportunities. Membership
fees are an important part
of our fundraising. There
are various other levels of
membership available from
Pal to Mate to Bezzie to BFF
to Legend – check out:
www.friendsoftheflyover.
org.uk/shop/
“It was the first time I’d been
out and met new people in a
while and everybody was so
friendly & welcoming.
Meeting all the other
volunteers who were all really
kind & interesting made the
experience even better.”
“I like it on The
Flyover, I feel great &
get lots out of
Volunteering; like
meeting new people &
making new friends.
The vibes within the
team are awesome!”

to the citizens of Liverpool (and beyond) who have
supported us since we first had this crazy idea!
We would also like to thank the following people &
organisations - and hope we haven’t left anyone out!
Liverpool City Council - officers, elected members &
elected Mayor; Spacehive - and those individuals &
companies who pledged time or money to support
us as we originally explored the concept of creating
an elevated urban park for Liverpool; Architecture
00; WikiHouse Team; Social Enterprise Network;
BBC Radio Merseyside; Liverpool Echo & the many
volunteers & creatives contributing to this project
including Laura Marie Brown, Chris Carney, Chloe
Buckley, Sam Jones, Events Design Co, IE Audio, World
Museum, TomFoolery, Sarah Allen, Service Point, LT
Print, Childwall Table Hire, Thrifty Van Hire, Middle
Distance and all the amazing partners & artists we
are working with and lots of others - you know who
you are!
WHAT NEXT......
FUNDERS & SPONSORS
THANK YOU...
“It is this kind of
project that would
make a significant and
immediate change to
the green & open space
of Liverpool city
centre and could
resonate on a global
scale as a best-
practice example of
innovative green space
planning.”
LCC Green & Open Spaces
Interim Report
As we programme next year’s activities & events we will be looking at what
we have learnt from this summer’s programme and to continue to build on the
immense social capital from this and our original crowdfunding campaign.
We are really looking forward to constructing our Urban Workbench site beneath
The Flyover and to exploring more of the themes we have identified when working
with the local community: Seeding the industrial revolution - Hunter St & the
areas around The Flyover have a rich manufacturing history of clocks, watches,
engineering & even the parts for the Spinning Jenny. Founding faith within the
city - Hunter St was also the site of the Friends Meeting House for the Quaker
community from 1796. In fact the construction of Churchill Way required the
demolition of it and the exhumation of the Quaker burial site. Communities
displaced - the neighbouring communities are rich in social history, yet turbulent
in some ways due to repeated events of ‘displacement’, including the Quakers,
the immigrants of Little Italy and the residents of Gerard Gardens and Fontenoy
Gardens
We are excited about the developing partnerships with cultural organisations,
artists, the local community, funders and social landlords....and look forward to
seeing you at our next events

Flyover Takeover Newsletter Aug16

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