Manifesting the Future

Manifesting the Future is part of 'Ripple: Past Present and Future' project, and is the brainchild of Edinburgh-based participatory artist Bobby Sayers, and takes the form of a wishing well on which community members could hang clay artworks representing their hopes, dreams and desires for the future of the area. Accompanied and assisted by Amrita Puri and Jimmy Turner from the Binks Hub, and with the support of the incredible team of staff and volunteers at the Ripple, we spent the week working with Ripple Project members and community members from the local area of Lochend, Restalrig and Craigentinny to craft over 60 clay plaques, the majority of which now hang on the ceramic wishing well which Bobby made to hold them.
Each of them expresses the hopes, dreams and desires of the individuals and groups from the community who joined Bobby and explored potential futures with him. Some were also made collaboratively over several days by different people, with one contributing the idea and the design, and someone else making and painting the plaque. These desires were both humble and grand, practical and abstract, and personal and collective, and some of the common themes they express are community, sociality, nature and the environment, wellbeing, happiness and the role of the Ripple Project.