Leighton Street Seating Area

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Action Factory worked in partnership with Groundwork West Lancashire and engaged with people from the travellers' site in Preston to create a sculptural seat which can also be used for play. Groundwork West Lancashire were working with the travellers to improve their suroundings and secured an Awards for All grant to involve the children and young people in the development of the facilities.

Action Factory worked with 3 groups of young people living on the site to develop ideas and imagery relating to mythical beasts and fantastic creatures. The groups used their creative imaginations and played a game of 'consequences' to create drawings and models of creatures such as reptiles, insects, birds and fish. The resulting hybrid sculpture is a dragon like creature with eagle's wings and a snake's body. The seating is spread along the tail of the snake, on the back of the dragon's head and on the back of the wings. Most of the seating faces inwards so spectators can use it to watch a game of football on the mound.

The groups also worked on creating decorative scales and feathers for the creature using collage and wire. These elements are are then created in glass tile and set in resin and are jewel like once set in to the sculpture.

An grand opening was held in March where all the young people involved in the project gave the creature a name.