UP Projects worked with artist, Ruth Beale on Care & Magic, a project that engaged with the staff of and visitors to Edgware Library located in Barnet, North London. Through targeted activities and subtle gestures of repair and rejuvenation, Care & Magic demonstrated how artist-led activity can serve to engage new audiences and produce lasting change.
From September – November 2023, Ruth carried out acts of “magic” at the library engaging with existing and inviting new audiences into the setting through a targeted programme of events. The project resulted in a series of lasting “care” interventions, including a new rug for the children’s library inspired by the original 1960s Library wallpaper and informed by the conversations that have taken place through the events held.
The project draws on and is inspired by Edgware Library’s rich history, as an iconic modernist building and a place for community, culture and family events to take place. Ruth took inspiration from the modernist fixtures as well as the library’s photo archive documenting past acts of magic – such as visits from a harpist, a ballet dancer and a horse – as well as the history of Edgware as a London suburb directly adjacent to the green belt. New activities curated by Ruth included a visit from a magician, flower pressing in books, lino printing and new planting that involved specific local groups including Edgware Primary School, Stonegrove Community Trust, the Youth Justice Services and the Library staff and its volunteers.
This project is part of a wider programme of events that UP Projects are curating to celebrate 100 Years of Station Road, exploring the role creative practice can play in bringing communities together and activating the High Street.
The Edgware Centenary Programme was curated by UP Projects and commissioned by Barnet Council.
Acts of Magic
- 21 September: Magician visit for Edgware Primary School
- 5 October: Lino Printing with Library staff, volunteers and general public
- 23 October Planting workshop with Youth Offending Services
- 18 October: Book flower pressing with Stonegrove Community Centre
- 23 November: A performance by a professional harpist in the library
Acts of Care
- A new rug for the Children’s Library
- Renewed planting in the library’s planters
