Fuel presents The Future Playground

This event, curated by Fevered Sleep, and produced by Fuel in 2010 and 2011, was an opportunity for artists, leaders, producers, and promoters to come together to reflect on the extraordinary creative opportunities that are offered when we make work for children. 

The Future Playground looked at the changing landscape of performance and art for young audiences, charting new territories, new ideas, and a growing group of artists who were working across artforms and across age ranges to re-imagine what that landscape might be.   

Forward-looking and concerned with artform and artist development, The Future Playground was a provocation to artists. The event aimed to inspire and encourage a range of people, working in all sorts of ways across all sorts of art forms, to think about making work for children.  

The first Future Playground took place at Sadler’s Wells in February 2010. A discussion chaired by Jude Kelly, artistic director of Southbank Centre, featured composer Paul Clark, journalist Lyn Gardner, theatre maker David Harradine, choreographer Arthur Pita, and producer Sarah Quelch. 

In 2011 we were at mac in Birmingham, which offered three small development bursaries with space at mac for artists and companies to develop ideas as a result of The Future Playground. 

The speakers at mac were Louisa Davies (producer, mac), Robin Dingemans (choreographer), David Harradine, (artistic director, Fevered Sleep), Gwen Van Spijk (producer, Lone Twin). The discussion was chaired by Dorothy Wilson (artistic director, mac). 

#TheFuturePlayground