Description of Community and Public Art Project

The Corner Shop Project is a public and functional art project in cooperation with a functioning small independent supermarket in New Cross in London.

Kenneth A. Balfelt organised the refurbishment with a set designer and invited ten other artists to make functional art projects with the shop. The project works on the premise of buyer-seller relations but we investigate all the other social layers that are represented in the shop. A shop is a place where people perform the same acts for the same purposes no matter their background or attitude. This is the 'material' we work with. It is a research in art as a way of working with social dialogue.

The aim of the project is to use art as a tool to research the social functions of local meeting points in order to create better conditions for communication between people. We believe that art in public places should be part of the local-social context and therefore create dialogue rather than objects.

The project is a negotiation between the individual communication strategies of the artists, the shop owners economical goal and the wishes of the customers.

This project takes into consideration that the local supermarkets on Lewisham Way are under extensive competition from Sainsbury and Tesco supermarkets. If the local shops dies there are far less opportunities for local residents to meet, acquaint and thereby respect and interact with each other.

Kenneth A. Balfelt has invited Stefan Saffer (D), Amy Plant (UK), Jeremy Deller (UK), Jeppe Hein (DK), Hester Oerlemans (NL)/Jolanda Muelanburg (NL), Julie Boserup (DK)/Cecilie Graversen (DK)/Rasmus Helles (DK), Apolonija Sustersic (SL/NL) and set designer Nicolai Hart (DK).

The artists will make projects that goes hand in hand with the function of the supermarket. The project is an ongoing process.

The first project was made by Kenneth A. Balfelt with assitance from Jeppe Hein. It was a customer survey to help Mr. Siva, the owner, to see what the customers thought about the shop, the staff, product range, etc. We also asked what new products they where interested in.

The second project was made by Jeppe Hein with assistance from Kenneth A. Balfelt to refurbish the toilet and turn it in to a public toilet.

The third was made by set designer Nicolai Hart and Kenneth A. Balfelt to redesign the shop.

The forth project was made by Julie Boserup (DK), Cecilie Graversen (DK) and Rasmus Helles (DK) who had a musician compose a piece of muzak especially for the shop. At the presentation of the music in the shop they interview customers about their favourite music which will be a compilation to be played in the shop.