LOCAL LEGENDS An interview series and research project that explores the field of narrative placemaking

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenNovember 01, 2018

“These small business owners — it’s these people that are the currency.”

A walk along Ridley Road Market with Kollier to find out about keeping the faith and what African entrepreneurs can teach the world about value.

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenNovember 01, 2018

“These small business owners — it’s these people that are the currency.”

PeopleNikki van GrimbergenNovember 01, 2018humancapital, social, placemaking, dalston, africa

“The way African people do things — we see worth, not just in exchange but in the person.”

Entrepreneur Kollier Din Bangura on valuing human spirit and storytelling as social capital

PeopleNikki van GrimbergenNovember 01, 2018humancapital, social, placemaking, dalston, africa

“The way African people do things — we see worth, not just in exchange but in the person.”

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenOctober 15, 2018community, Southampton, migration, arrivalsComment

The Writing Room

Exploring Southampton’s identity through on-the-ground stories of the city with graphic artist and educator Susanna Edwards and writer dr Nazneen Ahmed

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenOctober 15, 2018community, Southampton, migration, arrivalsComment

PeopleNikki van GrimbergenOctober 07, 2018

‘We need an experiential design cookbook for placemaking.’

Creative Director Dennis Cohen on the secret sauce of designing experiences

PeopleNikki van GrimbergenOctober 07, 2018

‘We need an experiential design cookbook for placemaking.’

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenFebruary 21, 2018Southampton, Community, Regeneration, Retial, Retail, Sea, Port, City, Medieval, Ocean1 Comment

'Southampton has sabotaged itself, but it also has a need for reconnection and celebration.'

A place portrait of this collage-city with illustrator Susanna Edwards, writer Owen Hatherley and community champion Rob Kurn

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenFebruary 21, 2018Southampton, Community, Regeneration, Retial, Retail, Sea, Port, City, Medieval, Ocean1 Comment

'Southampton has sabotaged itself, but it also has a need for reconnection and celebration.'

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenDecember 30, 2017music, radio, sound, placemaking, NYC, Manhattan, New York, disco, scenebuilding

'The reason you’re dancing today? That’s because of this place.'

Radio host Frank Ramos on why the clandestine dance clubs of seventies SoHo revolutionised how we shape scenes and tell stories

PlacesNikki van GrimbergenDecember 30, 2017music, radio, sound, placemaking, NYC, Manhattan, New York, disco, scenebuilding

'The reason you’re dancing today? That’s because of this place.'

PeopleRosanna VitielloNovember 18, 2017Istanbul, Music, Sound, placemaking, public space, Turkey, Can Altay, Public ArtComment

'We’re creating a studio for the sounds and voices of the city. Setting a setting where people can gather and record.'

Artist Can Altay on music, memory and imagined futures at Istanbul’s mythical İMÇ building

PeopleRosanna VitielloNovember 18, 2017Istanbul, Music, Sound, placemaking, public space, Turkey, Can Altay, Public ArtComment

'We’re creating a studio for the sounds and voices of the city. Setting a setting where people can gather and record.'

PeopleRosanna VitielloOctober 08, 2017NYC, Planning, Design, Community, Heritage

'In a way we are the conductor of the orchestra.'

NYC Public Design Commission’s Rebecca Macklis on choreographing the score of streetlife in New York City

PeopleRosanna VitielloOctober 08, 2017NYC, Planning, Design, Community, Heritage

'In a way we are the conductor of the orchestra.'

PeopleTracey TaylorSeptember 14, 2017Architecture, placebranding, nation branding, design1 Comment

'If you work in cities, in landscapes, and in buildings, the medium you work with is alive.'

Hunter Tura, CEO of Bruce Mau Design, on how place branding should learn to roll with revolution

PeopleTracey TaylorSeptember 14, 2017Architecture, placebranding, nation branding, design1 Comment

'If you work in cities, in landscapes, and in buildings, the medium you work with is alive.'

PeopleRosanna VitielloSeptember 14, 2017retail, theatre, china, shanghai, italy, experiencedesign, experience, valueretail, new york1 Comment

'It's getting people to be complicit in the suspension of disbelief. What if this were true? How would you respond to it?'

Architect Brian Garrison on the theatre of retail as a stage for storytelling

PeopleRosanna VitielloSeptember 14, 2017retail, theatre, china, shanghai, italy, experiencedesign, experience, valueretail, new york1 Comment

'It's getting people to be complicit in the suspension of disbelief. What if this were true? How would you respond to it?'

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 31, 2017big data, data storytelling, technology, placemakingComment

'Data holds power. But the most important thing is the story you tell with it.'

Researcher, architect and urban designer Saba Golchehr on the critical role of the storyteller in a data driven world

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 31, 2017big data, data storytelling, technology, placemakingComment

'Data holds power. But the most important thing is the story you tell with it.'

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 31, 2017Making, Placemaking, MakerCulture, Brighton, Community21, Blockbuilders, Community, Engagement, UniversityofBrighton

'Placemaking is a pervasive term in planning. In many respects, our Place Making is about making with a capital M.'

Designers and researchers Nick Gant and Joe Palmer on community-led planning and the engaging power of creative making

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 31, 2017Making, Placemaking, MakerCulture, Brighton, Community21, Blockbuilders, Community, Engagement, UniversityofBrighton

'Placemaking is a pervasive term in planning. In many respects, our Place Making is about making with a capital M.'

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 13, 2017narratology, storytelling, graffiti, bricklane, oxford brookes, academia, placemaking, charity1 Comment

'You need to have a set of conventions in order to rebel against them'

Narratologist Andrea Macrae on narratives that define, defy, and tell us who we are

PeopleRosanna VitielloAugust 13, 2017narratology, storytelling, graffiti, bricklane, oxford brookes, academia, placemaking, charity1 Comment

'You need to have a set of conventions in order to rebel against them'

PeopleRosanna VitielloJuly 27, 2017cinema, film, cinematography

“I try to find what is beautiful, or important, or exciting about a place before I've touched it - before we've worked any film magic at all.”

Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh on looking at light, place and mystery through the camera’s eye

PeopleRosanna VitielloJuly 27, 2017cinema, film, cinematography

“I try to find what is beautiful, or important, or exciting about a place before I've touched it - before we've worked any film magic at all.”

PeopleRosanna VitielloJune 28, 2017croydon, Placemaking, urbandesign, planning, public space, TransportComment

'Believing that everything is interesting, nothing is boring, has been there through the different things I’ve done.’

Croydon Council Placemaker Vincent Lacovara on finding fascination in London’s fringes

PeopleRosanna VitielloJune 28, 2017croydon, Placemaking, urbandesign, planning, public space, TransportComment

'Believing that everything is interesting, nothing is boring, has been there through the different things I’ve done.’

PeopleRhiannon WilliamsJune 28, 2017Placemaking, toronto, canada, london, photography, collage, artComment

‘I've trained myself to see things that other people aren't aware of. You start to see a secret writing and a different language.’

Photographer and artist Anthony Gerace on finding a language for landscapes the world long forgot

PeopleRhiannon WilliamsJune 28, 2017Placemaking, toronto, canada, london, photography, collage, artComment

‘I've trained myself to see things that other people aren't aware of. You start to see a secret writing and a different language.’

PeopleRosanna VitielloMay 19, 2017community, radio, audio, hackneywick, london, palcemaking, placemaking, art, Regeneration

‘The story has to have high stakes. It has to have consequences, or people don't care.’

Radio maker David Waters on tuning into a changing community in Hackney Wick

PeopleRosanna VitielloMay 19, 2017community, radio, audio, hackneywick, london, palcemaking, placemaking, art, Regeneration

‘The story has to have high stakes. It has to have consequences, or people don't care.’

PeopleRhiannon WilliamsMay 19, 2017community, landscape, london, decoratorsComment

'We have identities as individuals, but identity is also related to place; how do you start to uncover that?'

Landscape Architect Suzanne O’Connell on the crucial nature of discussion, and how a ‘Trojan Horse’ can spark conversation

PeopleRhiannon WilliamsMay 19, 2017community, landscape, london, decoratorsComment

'We have identities as individuals, but identity is also related to place; how do you start to uncover that?'

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 27, 2017Placemaking, identity, branding, barbican, london, smithfield, museum, culture

'Why are you doing it? And if you stop doing it, would anybody care?'

Brand strategist Jane Wentworth on asking life’s biggest questions of cultural institutions

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 27, 2017Placemaking, identity, branding, barbican, london, smithfield, museum, culture

'Why are you doing it? And if you stop doing it, would anybody care?'

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 26, 2017essex, Art, Culture, Placemaking, Architecture, Radicalism

'How can we shift perceptions of culture in Essex?'

Focal Point Gallery Director Joe Hill on challenging place narratives

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 26, 2017essex, Art, Culture, Placemaking, Architecture, Radicalism

'How can we shift perceptions of culture in Essex?'

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 05, 2017crisis, conflict, migration, haiti parisComment

‘Places are not made by disciplines. They’re made by people.’

Post-crisis reconstruction expert Marie Aquilino on the role of narrative in reviving places

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 05, 2017crisis, conflict, migration, haiti parisComment

‘Places are not made by disciplines. They’re made by people.’

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 05, 2017Placemaking, crisis, migration, refugees, germany, kitchenontherun, food, cooking, europeComment

‘How can integration can take place when we talk about others, but not with them?’

Kitchen on the Run co-founder Rabea Hass on changing the story for refugees

PeopleRosanna VitielloApril 05, 2017Placemaking, crisis, migration, refugees, germany, kitchenontherun, food, cooking, europeComment

‘How can integration can take place when we talk about others, but not with them?’

PeopleNuttanun ChantadansuwanMarch 22, 2017Mongolia, Placemaking, Archeology, History, memory, Crossrail, UCL, Petrie, Thames, Heritage

‘Archeology is not about artefacts. It’s very much about the context.’

Archaeologist Lisa Randisi on archaeology as storytelling in Mongolia

PeopleNuttanun ChantadansuwanMarch 22, 2017Mongolia, Placemaking, Archeology, History, memory, Crossrail, UCL, Petrie, Thames, Heritage

‘Archeology is not about artefacts. It’s very much about the context.’

PeopleRosanna VitielloMarch 22, 2017London placemaking, London, Placemaking, OlympicPark, East, Culture, Regeneration, Poetry, Art, StratfordComment

‘How do you create permanent moments of surprise, of emotion, of intrigue?’

Curator and cultural leader Adriana Marques on building character in London’s Olympic Park

PeopleRosanna VitielloMarch 22, 2017London placemaking, London, Placemaking, OlympicPark, East, Culture, Regeneration, Poetry, Art, StratfordComment

‘How do you create permanent moments of surprise, of emotion, of intrigue?’