Nowville
Nowville was an evolving interactive sculpture that told the story of a future city, building on and embellishing the vision of King’s staff and students at The Arcade, Bush House. Beginning as a blank canvas of a paper model city, this silent metropolis – empty apart from rows of ghostly buildings, blank billboards and winding streets, transformed into a collective vision of the future.
Nowville Conventions
Four Nowville Conventions took place in The Arcade at Bush House. They were:
Work with talented artist Jenny Leonard to fill a time capsule, by using paints, words and postcards to create colourful visual stories that capture the essence of the city.
The opening of Nowville parliament
This was the first day of Nowville and the convention opened a forum on how we will run the city with Paddy Roberts, co-founder of Grow Heathrow and campaigner for radical utopian community building in real life.
The day that money came to town
The second Nowville convention decided what, if any, currency we use in the city and on what the economy should run – gold, good intentions? Hosted by Andrew Simms, author of Tescopoly and Cancel the Apocalypse. In his new book We Are More Than This: Evidence from a Better World, Andrew imagines a world where a better way of life is already the norm.
Silicon Quarry
Technology: The battle between miniature man and miniature machine. Who will control whom? William Drew is a writer and games designer who is an associate at Coney and Head of Experience for HiddenCity. Drew makes work at the intersection between live performance and gaming.
How will we be remembered?
Language and legacy: What does the culture we made in miniature say about us? How do we tell our tales? What is our impact?
Ruth Potts is a co-founder of bread, print & roses a collective engaged in anarchist baking, seditious pamphleteering and radical walks. She teaches ecological design thinking at Schumacher College.
About The Arcade at Bush House
The Arcade at Bush House is part of the Cultural Quarter at King's College London and is home to a varied programme of events, installations and exhibitions, offering a forum where students, the academic community and the public can engage with each other, as well as with artists and cultural partners. Also home to a welcoming café and the KCLSU Shop, The Arcade offers a direct connection with research and collaborative activity taking place across the university, and provides a new space on the Strand for conversation, reflection and engagement.
Nowville is an Anagram project commissioned by King’s College London as part of World Futures – Change is the only constant value. It was supported by the university's Culture team.