Portable tech playground project to tour

11:33am Thursday 15th May 2008

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Clare Gannaway appointed as Project Manager Progress on a ground-breaking £100,000 new portable playground for Lancashire and Cumbria was given a boost this week as Lancaster-based digital arts charity "folly" confirmed the appointment of Clare Gannaway as the Project Manager.

Clare will oversee the development of the "Portable Pixel Playground", which will tour to venues across Lancashire and Cumbria from this summer. The playground is funded by the Big Lottery Fund's "Playful Ideas" programme.

Described as "part artwork, part computer game, part adventure playground", the dynamic playground's appeal is that all the pieces of play equipment will themselves be original pieces of digital art built by artists from all over the world.

Clare brings a wealth of experience working in the arts, having organised numerous exhibitions, commissions and projects, as well as arts programmes for young people and families. She also works as Exhibitions Curator at Manchester Art Gallery and on other freelance projects.

Key partner venues in Lancashire and Cumbria confirmed for the playground up until Christmas 2008, across Lancashire and Cumbria.

Project Manager Clare Gannaway said "The Portable Pixel Playground is an ongoing project, and we've already secured our key partners for the next two years. Tullie House in Carlisle will see the launch event on 6th August - which is national "Playday" - and from there the Playground will tour to Lanternhouse in Ulverston, St Nicholas Arcades shopping centre in Lancaster, Carnforth railway station, and the Solaris Centre, Blackpool. We really want to make the Playground exciting and accessible to a wide audience and we're really looking forward to working closely with our venue partners".

First sponsor: Rehab agency to create brand The Portable Pixel Playground has also already seen its first sponsor come onboard. In a sponsorship deal worth around £10,000, Lancaster branding and design agency Rehab will create the brand for the Portable Pixel Playground. Rehab Managing Director Janie Ash said "We are delighted to once again support folly in another exciting project. At Rehab we always work in partnership because we know from great partnerships come great ideas and folly is a perfect partner for us and Portable Pixel Playground, the perfect project ".

folly's Chief Executive Taylor Nuttall said "We're thrilled to have Rehab as the first sponsor for the Playground because they are a pleasure to work with and we're very much looking forward to seeing the branding concepts they develop. We believe the "Portable Pixel Playground" brand could be an incredibly strong one, and this innovative new concept in art and play could have massive potential far beyond the boundaries of Lancashire and Cumbria. We're actively seeking new sponsors to help us realise the full potential of this exciting, innovative project".