Everyday Play was a series of six free, creative playgroups for under 5s and their grown-ups to play together. Sessions took place at Good Things Collective in Morecambe, and I ran them with my 3-year-old daughter who contributed their development.

Sessions offered a series of six materials – masking tape, pipe cleaners, tin foil, tissue paper, toilet roll and wool (collectively, “the sculpture kit”, developed during a residency with In Situ in 2023-24). Attendees were encouraged simply to see what they could do with them, creating a space for participant-led activity and unstructured interventions. This prioritised materially-responsive making, led by intergenerational collaboration and curiosity related to the materials we already find in our houses.

People made toys, costumes, sculptures and play environments. We made balls to play catch. We made dens to hide inside. We tangled ourselves up with wool. We made footprints on tin foil.

At the end of each session, I reappropriated “tidy-up time” into “sculpture-making time”, and gathered together all of the aftermath of play into a single, complex sculptural form. They raise questions about co-production with children, and the knowledge a child’s perspective may contribute to art making. These were then exhibited alongside other sculptures which were co-produced by other groups at an exhibition – All Kinds of Hands, at the Storey in Lancaster.