A new outdoor space providing a diverse range of engagement activities for staff, children and adults using the Special Intervention Service.

New Town Culture commissioned Blak Outside to develop a new outdoor space at Mayesbrook House, home of the Barking and Dagenham Special Intervention Service where important work like play therapy, family group conferencing and contact work happens.

For over a year Carole Wright from Blak Outside based herself in the building, working and collaborating with staff, young people and families using the centre to develop a shared vision for the gardens. The Sanctuary Garden included new growing patches full of fruit trees and berries, raised beds for herbs, picnic benches, garden games, ponds, bird boxes, worm hotels, mosaics, seeds, compost bins, sheds and tools.

To create the garden, Carole brought together organisations such as the art group Public works, Birkbeck Architecture students, Garden of Things and the staff and young people from the Reperations team based within the LBBD Youth Justice service. This project was a shining example of how public services can be improved through artistc creativity.

Blak Outside

Blak Outside is a multidisciplinary creative collective providing culturally diverse and inclusive events. The collective host the Blak Outside Festival, an annual grassroots intergenerational event supportive of working class social housing residents and the QTIBIPOC community. Blak Outside is also a Serpentine Gallery Fellow. Carole Wright, founding member of Blak Outside, is a creative urban activist, community gardener and beekeeper. Carole currently manages two community gardens in Southwark, South London. Recent projects include: Blak Outside 2020 Festival, The Garden Museum and Peabody Blackfriars, 2020; Walking My Manor, Cordwainers Grow, 2020; Walking Whilst Being Blak Outside, Industria Publication, 2020; IFLA World Congress, 2019; The Big Lunch, Eden Project, 2019 and Penfold Medicinal Garden, The Showroom, 2018.