About
The Street Matters was a partnership project that set out to explore the potential for developing a neighbourhood plan for St Helens Road in Swansea. The project focused on equity, sustainability and a shared understanding of place, culture and identity.
The Street Matters was co-devised and developed by Owen Griffiths and Isabel Griffin. It was delivered through Ways of Working with community partners EYST, YMCA Swansea, Swan Gardens (Caredig) and Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
As a partnership project led by artists, The Street Matters set out to explore the potential for developing a neighbourhood plan for St Helens Road – a place where domestic life meets local economy, culture, and faith. Situated in the most diverse ward in Swansea, this street is a place of significance for many people. We worked with fifty different artists and creatives to articulate a shared understanding of place, culture and history, considering how we might collectively plan for the future of St Helens Road. Together, we gathered current perceptions of the street as well as people’s hopes and ideas for the future, centring concerns around climate, social, cultural and community justice and sustainability, rather than traditional economic regeneration goals.
The Street Matters was a Connect and Flourish Project funded by Arts Council of Wales & National Lottery Good Causes. We are very grateful to all the organisations and individuals who embraced The Street Matters, supporting and working closely with us as the project developed and grew over time.
‘The Street Matters is a powerful socially engaged art project with community and art at its core. It has created a chance for many people to participate and be empowered by new ways of working and thinking about regeneration, place and community, led by conversation, connection and art. In these deeply unsettling and divisive times, the project places culture and friendship at its core. Using food, photography, textiles, language, AI, poetry and community fairs it brings people together to share ideas and create new futures. All of the artists explore what regeneration might mean to the diverse communities who live and work on St Helens Road. It has been an honour to be one of the partners across the city whose legacy will be continued friendships, new partnerships and deep conversations which will support community led approaches to regeneration for years to come.’
Katy Freer, Exhibitions Officer, & Karen MacKinnon,
Curator, at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
