Playing Field, 2017

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PLAYING FIELD

4:52 minutes. A collaborative film made with Betsy Dadd (artist-duo Kaleidoworks) co-created with residents of Skrinkle Estate CREATE Pembrokeshire residency, Reading Room, 2017

Playing Field uses film as a form of art activism. We worked with local families, Save Our Skrinkle Park group and Manorbier Primary School to occupy, celebrate and document the Skrinkle Park playground which faced the threat of removal due to a pattern of underinvestment for local communities. The project invited local residents to Reading Room for screenings that explored ideas around play and public space, as well as playful on-site film-making workshops, creating a feedback loop between local knowledge and creative ideas.

Cameras and sound recording devices were used as tools to capture the park - thinking creatively about the play apparatus as filming devices, and games as a way of getting the camera to travel around the space. Children also foraged for plants and found items that could become part of the camera.
From the programme of activity a co-produced film emerged.

We engineered the camera to travel in dramatic camera movements, rigging pendulums and zip-wires to the playground architecture as a kind of stunt-cinematography, catching fleeting moments and behaviours the park is host to. The film captured the value of the playground to the community, supporting their campaign.

Supported by Pembrokeshire County Council and Beatrice Plunkett.

Poster from project, photos from playground, making films with children of Shrinkle

© 2026, Lydia CS