1,329 paper people creating a paper chain of ideas for A Town Hall for All will go on display in Penicuik Town Hall on Wednesday 13 June. As part of The Happenstance project for Scotland + Venice and the Year of Young People, every primary school pupil in Penicuik has been invited to share their ideas for A Town Hall for All.

Penicuik Town Hall has been identified as a priority for the Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project; a partnership with Midlothian Council, Penicuik Community Development Trust and Penicuik First. Applications have recently been made to Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland for a Townscape Initiative (TI) and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) for Penicuik town centre.

Given Penicuik’s heritage as a Papermaking Town ideas have been captured on 1,329 Paper People – one for every pupil in the town. Pupils from all six primary schools in Penicuik participated; Cornbank, Cuiken, Glencorse, Mauricewood, Sacred Heart and Strathesk primary schools. Their Paper Chain of Ideas will be exhibited in the Town Hall on Wednesday 13 June (from 11.30am to 5.30pm), to start a whole-town debate about what A Town Hall for All ages should be like. It is hoped to inform future plans for Penicuik Town Hall.

Whilst Scotland + Venice : The Happenstance opened on Saturday 26 May at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice), Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord participated in Penicuik’s annual Hunter and Lass gala to celebrate the work of the town’s school pupils, and raise awareness of the A Town Hall for All project and invite wider participation. A stall at Penicuik in the Park showcased the work to date.

The A Town Hall for All project is featured as one of seven projects from across Scotland showcased at this year’s Biennale. The Happenstance has created a community garden space in the heart of Palazzo Zenobio in the Dorsuduro district of Venice. It has been getting critical acclaim and has been very well received by local communities in Venice.

Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord was at The Happenstance garden last week to undertake a workshop with class 5 of the Cinnasio Luceo Marco Polo school, to share with them the work from Penicuik and invite them to share their ideas for Un Municipio per Tutti (A Town Hall for All).

The work of Venetian school pupils will be on display in Penicuik alongside the work of young Penicuikers. In addition the film of the project and images from across Penicuik and Venice will be on show. School groups will be coming along to Penicuik Town Hall throughout the day and the installation will be open to the public, who are invited to share their own ideas for A Town Hall for All.

Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord said; “It will be exciting to show off the great work by young people in Penicuik and Venice. The installation will demonstrate how many primary aged young folk there are in the local community. But, most importantly, it will show the ideas and ambition of young people to have a welcoming and lively place for the local community, of all ages, to gather and enjoy. It’s been a privilege to have Penicuik featured in The Happenstance at the Biennale and it is hoped that the work of young Penicuikers can inspire positive action to help transform Penicuik Town Hall for all for a sustainable and vibrant long term future.”

Scotland + Venice: The Happenstance – Collateral Event at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice) –establishes a Freespace in the garden at the heart of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice.

To celebrate Scotland’s Year of Young People (YOYP), The Happenstance brings together artists and architects to work with young people in Scotland to discover what Freespace (the Biennale theme) means to them and their communities, before bringing a ‘living library of ideas’ to Venice in May, 2018. The Happenstance activities will be based at Palazzo Zenobio from 26 May – 25 November 2018 (Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596, Venezia 30123).

Promoted by the Scotland and Venice Partnership and curated by Glasgow-based artists/curators WAVEparticle (who regularly collaborate with Austin-Smith:Lord) a team of artists and architects are encouraging everyone into a vital relationship with the built environment, using play as an active agent within the process of rethinking and reclaiming Freespace.

In the garden of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice, visitors can explore the previous work of the artists and architects of The Happenstance, make their mark on the Armature built by Baxendale Architects, make a costume or sit back in our deckchairs to watch a film from Scotland or Venice.

Come and play!

Take a chance, make a stance…see what happens

– This is the art of The Happenstance