Business is Driven by Quarterly Results: Pathways to Croydon led by Lina Ivanova

The opening workshop of a series of four, artist Lina Ivanova invites individuals, families and friends from any age or background to participate in a process of reflection on our connection and place within the London Borough of Croydon. Anyone interested in sharing about their paths to Croydon, their experience living in and around the area, as well as their future dreams and aspirations, is welcome.

Lina’s project ‘Business is Driven by Quarterly Results’ aims to give participants the opportunity to locate their own stories here, in public spaces of Croydon, and to consider their future in the area. To do this, we will reflect on the ‘desire paths’ that have led us to Croydon, the emotional memories accumulated along the way, and on the spaces we want to create for ourselves and future generations. We will reflect on the meanings of ‘public’ and ‘private’ spaces and their respective functions and uses. Reeves Corner will serve as an epicentre, a hotspot to host this process of demystifying where our experiences sit within the wider context of History, Heritage, Legacy, and Placemaking, set against the momentum of social and economic development in the area.

The title, ‘Business is Driven by Quarterly Results’ refers to the economic and social forces driving both individuals and corporations to strive for prosperity, their identity and culture marking the local area, creating a sense of place and community. This project considers Croydon’s multiple layers of jostling commercial and community entities and how power structures can steer individuals’ paths and purpose across physical public spaces.

Activities will include written and/or verbal reflection, guided by prompts and questions, mapping out our physical journeys and their span over time. The map tracings produced in the mapping exercises will feed into later stages of the project to inform the structures built to house the work produced in consecutive photography and sculpture workshops. Participants will also be encouraged to explore the relationship between emotion, memory and place and to situate their personal experiences and gain a greater understanding of what they imagine and fantasise about the future of Croydon’ public spaces by verbalising and visualising their versions of the future of the site.

This workshop is part of Turf Projects’ latest commission series Desire Paths as part of London Borough of Culture 2023. Lina Ivanova’s project ‘Business is Driven by Quarterly Results’ aims to give participants the opportunity to locate their own stories in the public spaces of Croydon, and to consider their future in the area.

Access info: Note the site has uneven floor (pebbles) so wheelchair users might have difficulty moving across the site.

ABOUT LINA IVANOVA:

Lina Ivanova is a London based artist, originally from Bulgaria. Her practice is process-led, multidisciplinary, primarily including photography and sculpture. Lina constructs multi-media installations as a means of negotiating the notion of place. Often rooted in her experience of migration, Lina’s practice explores narratives of displacement, family, history and heritage. Found objects, public and private archives and industrial materials inform her exploration into the relationship between background, class and status. Having graduated with a BA in Photography (2015), she co-founded Revolv Collective (2017) and completed a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (2018).