Village Voices by Astra Howard
There’s a lane-way not far from where I live which I’ve walked through literally thousands of times. Previously on this blog I’ve complained its a lane-way many men will often pop into for a quiet wee late at night. It’s also a lane-way where homeless people will stop to rest for the night. A few months ago a guy called Matt, who I sometimes chat to, who will often sleep rough in nearby Wilshire Lane, left a sign on a shopping trolley saying, “Matt’s home. Please don’t touch. No valuables”.
As of today, the laneway now has a public art project called “Village Voices”, about which the artist Astra Howard says:
This public artwork aims to capture and then communicate diverse stories from and about Surry Hills. Through the constantly rearranged letters, this artwork recalls intimate games of scrabble, the compositing machine of long ago and the advent of mass communication. The changing letters/words tell local stories through poems and prose, prompting passersby to think about diverse issues that affect them, from the local to the global.
Great work!
After posting, I received an email from a friend saying “This is great James. I had heard about this. The artist wants a variety of voices heard so she is running a workshop at the neighbourhood centre on 22nd September so any Surry Hills local can share their story. I’m planning on going. Let me know if you want to go.”