games for creative activity in everyday life

by xin and chris
this page first developed for what could an art centre be?
what could be an art centre?

*ideas for use:

all of these games are free and require little or no preparation. we've got 'something' from all of them.
*most of the time we didn't even realise that they were games until later...

+ try them! (depending on your circumstances they will be more or less improvised and off-the-cuff - don't worry!)

savour, notice,
how do you feel?

+ click on the links to read more, and add your own thoughts/experiences
+ add your general thoughts, comments, ideas, uses here
+ email ANYTHING to chris@a-small-lab.com

fix

a cheap toy

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climb

high! on forbidden terrain

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make, play!

a board game no one has seen before

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improvise, from stuff

your utensils

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hang

mobiles

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make your own

chocolate, with friends

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experiment

with a modular system

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compile

a kit of stuff

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nap

in green glades

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fill in

gaps, with stuff

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gather up

unruly elements

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fix

stuff in your neighbourhood

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address

public safety hazards

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loose in-fill

in cracks

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untangle

a stringy mess, with a large group

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make a different

display stand

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add

something funny

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adopt

self-seeding plants

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make

a display device, outside

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feast!

together

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perform

public service

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make

a display device, with stuff you found

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attach

stuff to a fence, somehow, and playfully

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pull

a trolley in different terrains

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wonder

about something

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notice

attachment possibilities

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share

your experiences

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address

public safety hazards

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notice

ripples

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walk

with new friends

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try

new fruits

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make a hut

with a guy you just met

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holes: spiral and multiple

vessels
anchors
cracks
niches

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work

with tools that make you feel uneasy

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plant

unknown seeds

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shoelaces that became pant laces (why not? why can't it be?)

"new names for old things"

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offer a table

of various stuff

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long-lasting, robust

temporary function

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make a bag

out of a sheet of cardboard

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ad hoc

urban chaos

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cook

with different tools

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take a box

as a starting point

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produce

materials from unlikely or difficult things

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accessorise

with trash

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find

things that fit

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alter

everyday things to make a toy

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sleep

in cramped spaces

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organise!

well, try to...

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perform

public service

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harvest

plentiful resources

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feast!

where you 'feel like it'

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voices telling us:

this is what you need, this is how to solve it

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uniform vs non-standard,

cobbled together

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(design) intention,

function, uses

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decorate

with items on hand

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swing

a dodgy swing...

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improve

an item of someone else's clothing

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dance slowly

and frantically! with a close friend

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catch

a bird with an improvised device

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arrange

some stuff from the garden

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grind, gather

stuff

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rearrange

familiar things, cheekily

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view

a room from a new perspective

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forage, cook

with 'weeds'

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make, in multi-layers

a dirtball

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balance

on street fixings

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graffiti

with water

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make, savour

fruit salad, with bits of skin

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hide, mask

with leaves and stuff

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play

with fire

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harvest

with tools not fit for purpose

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provide

a resource for your neighbours

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extract colour

from stuff

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fill in cracks in the street

with stuff

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walk, together

with an unwieldy cart you made

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make ways

to hang together

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rebuild

what has been destroyed
reimagining
using,reusing waste to improve your environment

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appropriation

remixing trash with nature
rubbish and transformations

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