Community creativity will be on display this fall through Flowing Futures: Avon River Design Challenge.
Launched in April, by Provocation Ideas Festival, the challenge has invited Stratford residents to submit their design ideas for the river.
Festival founding director Mark Rosenfeld said expectations have been exceeded.
“We received 34 proposals, including four from students and we’ve received 12 statements of interest, so in total there are 46 submissions.”
Submissions address habitat restoration, biodiversity, public art, place-making, accessible pathways for the area, water quality, climate resilience, sound, story-telling, community memory, digital interactive experiences and new ways to gather on the river.
Rosenfeld said they found both the commitment to the challenge and the willingness to share a diverse number of ideas outstanding.
“It’s (the Avon River) not only a geographic feature, it’s really part of Stratford’s identity and that in part explains why people were willing to spend time and creativity on developing proposals because it’s something that is really central to Stratford.”
Rosenfeld added the proposals will be given individual panels for the community to check out at the Copperlight as part of a public exhibition, scheduled to run Oct. 1 to 16. An awards ceremony will be held the day after the exhibition closes and five awards will be announced, including the people’s choice award.
Guests at the exhibit can vote on the people’s choice award by scanning a QR code.
