Reservoir Laneways: Friends in Strange Times — Artful Deeds

Reservoir Laneways—
Friends in Strange Times catalogue and public art project.

Reservoir Laneways was a two-year, community-engaged art project, commissioned by Darebin City Council. Over the two years, Artful Deeds developed several artworks with the community, each work had a different theme based on who was participating and what was happening in the world at the time. The installation was situated across two connecting laneways in the suburb of Reservoir, realised as large-scale street posters. The art project was archived as a series of small books.

Art and Design Approach
For Friends in Strange Times, I asked local residents and young people from Reservoir; what helped them to get through the periods of isolation during the various COVID19 lockdowns. With their permission, their unique responses were brought together and publicly exhibited through the laneway as large-scale posters. The artwork was a way of reactivating the public space—after a period of relative emptiness—by making visible the shared experiences of humour, sadness, hope and connection during this time.

Residents and young people from Reservoir, including community members from the Reservoir Neighbourhood House and East Reservoir Community Garden, and the Kids Have Their Say Group – East Reservoir contributed to the work.

The Big Issue