It’s been an incredible few months in the Green Roofs HQ on London Road, Bath. If you don’t walk that way, you may not know about the remarkable impression our little outlet has made on that part of the City. We have a window on the world. From the inside we can see the changes happening in Snow Hill. From the outside, scores of people everyday stop to keep an eye on the progress of the project.
Last week, I wrote a poster to explain our presence to those encountering us for the first time. Here is the full text:
This is The Green Roofs HQ. The Green Roofs is the name of a project being run by Kilter Theatre. The Snow Hill estate, opposite this shop, is famous for its green roofs. Kilter is famous for running participatory arts projects in unusual places.
We run Kilter Theatre and we live on this road & The Green Roofs is the closest we have ever worked to home. We are running this project because we walk along the London Road every day and we admire the green roofs and we want to share our excitement about this part of town. Not everyone loves this part of town but we think it is an unruly and creative fringe. Anything could happen here. And hopefully it will.
In August, Kilter was lent this empty shop by a generous and sympathetic landlord. This building was one of 9 empty shops in a row and we thought that by taking up residency right in the middle of this unloved stretch we could help make it look a bit nicer and a bit more lively and attractive for other people who might want to undertake other nice, lively, attractive projects in other unloved places nearby.
We began by running free public events, open to all. First of all we invited some local historians to lead a guided walk of the area. Kirsten & Andrew have written lots of books about Bath and toured all the usual Roman & Georgian sites but they were very enthusiastic to see what they could dig up at this end of town, so rarely visited by tourists. Lots of local people and fans of the city flocked to hear the stories and they weren’t disappointed. Some people could remember when this shop was a bakers. Lots more could remember when Dominoes was the Longacre Tavern. Still more were surprised to see that the Porter Butt no longer served pints but Richer sound systems instead.
It was clear that the area had undergone a lot of changes. In fact it was still changing. We began to record the changes. We hosted a photography workshop and recorded all the details of colour and texture around Snow Hill & the London Road.
Sharing the photos we were able to show how, under the microscope, through a lens, the London Road and Snow Hill area was as full of beauty as anywhere in the world. We printed the photos and put them on the wall in the shop and they inspired our visitors.
Lots of people stop to look in these windows. They didn’t used to stop when it was painted over and dirty. They hurried past. You stopped because you’re interested.
We feel that we’re on a journey. If we can make people stop in their tracks then anything is possible.
We hosted a truly creative session here in this empty shop. We invited writers of all levels of ability to imagine alternative realities in Snow Hill and on the London Road. A host of characters came to life in poetry and prose.
We invited local musicians to create songs about these characters and about this area of Bath where musicians and writers live and pass each other in the street every day. In little back rooms near where you are standing right now, guitars are strumming out love songs dedicated to this unique corner of Bath.
We’re going to keep working on this project. We won’t be here all the time but we’ll visit as regularly as we can to see what happens next. There are so many creative people of all ages and backgrounds interested in what happens next that we want to make sure there is the opportunity to share ideas. We’ve made some great friends already who want to meet regularly. Maybe you’d like to join us.
We’re interested to think about what Snow Hill & the London Road will look like in the future? Will there always be all these cars and lorries or might there one day be cafes and terraces? Will the pubs that became shops become pubs again? Will the empty shops become full? Will people stop here and be interested? For how long?
In the late 1950s Snow Hill was famous for having the first ‘sky-scraper’ built outside of London. What will it be famous for in 2050? What will it be famous for in 2015? What can we make happen here?
Oliver & Caroline
Sept. 2011
