Experience a disobedient choir, utopian illustrations, ceilidhs and feasts as Caithness rebuilds the People’s Palace of Possibility
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A unique interactive installation is coming to Lyth Arts Centre (LAC) for three weeks from July 27 which asks how we find energy and hope for the future, despite the fear and anger we feel today.
Step inside the People’s Palace of Possibility’s multi-coloured, nomadic dome, discover its remains and help restore it. From embarking on audio walks which help you to appreciate your surroundings, stepping onto a building site to model what the Palace is missing and pushing through the escape hatch into a world outside capitalism, the People’s Palace of Possibility prompts visitors to "build their shared utopia".
The Palace is added to and animated by people wherever it goes. In Caithness it will host a disobedient choir, utopian illustrations, potlucks and ceilidhs. There will be music from Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail and Cattachs and Gallachs of the Grey Coast, film screenings, writing and drawing workshops and some good old fashioned chin wagging.
Food is at the heart of the People’s Palace of Possibility, and you are invited to feast within it. Every Saturday between July 29 and August 12 you can join fellow citizens for a community feast with a difference, discovering the origins of the Palace and toasting to unbuilt futures. Come hungry, angry, and hopeful.
The People’s Palace of Possibility is a nomadic project by Sheffield-based theatre and interactive arts company The Bare Project. The Palace has been building various forms since 2019 and after successful previews will tour to Caithness, South Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight.
Malaika Cunningham, artistic director of The Bare Project, said: “Caithness is a really exciting area for this project because it is very different to all the other locations we're going to which are more urban. It's also one of the more interesting places we’ll go to when thinking about land justice, which plays a huge role in the People’s Palace. Going to a place that has such a different relationship with land will allow us to gather a different kind of perspective and enable a sort of knowledge exchange with future Palace locations.
"Compared to Tower Hamlets or Rotherham you get really different responses to how people have a relationship with the landscape that they find themselves in, who owns those landscapes and how they might enact change politically and environmentally in their local area. We wanted that range because the kinds of things an 18-year-old in Caithness wants to see happen and a 42-year-old in Rotherham may be surprisingly similar."
Malaika says that a multicoloured dome will appear at LAC, and when you enter there are lots of "incredible participatory installations" to engage with. There will be different ways to experience the Palace’s history but also to build its future – it’s a vibrant space to do some dreaming.
"Through the People’s Palace of Possibility we’re building an archive of people’s political feelings right now, and how they would enact change. The Palace’s audio archive already includes 200 voices and will be thousands of voices strong by the end – for citizens it’s a really exciting opportunity to make sure what you have to is there to be heard long after the event is over.
“Food is a central theme in the People’s Palace, and that emerged when we were developing the project during the pandemic. When people talked about what they missed, it was sharing a meal with their friends or going out for food among strangers. The act of eating together made people feel part of a collective. So food has become a huge way for the Palace to bring people together, break down barriers and energise us to create a better future.”
The People’s Palace of Possibility is open from Thursday to Sunday for three weeks from 12pm until 5pm each day – dates listed below – and the full programme is available at: lytharts.org.uk/the-peoples-palace-of-possibility/
Thursday 27th – Sunday July 30th
Thursday 3rd – Sunday August 6th
Thursday 10th – Sunday August 13th
