The floor flag making workshop at Leeds Art Gallery took place in April 2024. I worked with community groups and gallery visitors to create a manifesto for care and feeding, including breastfeeding, in the City of Leeds.
Inspired by the exhibition Found Cities, Lost Objects on display at the gallery, curated by Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid CBE, we explored the city with fresh perspectives, discussing what it could be like if it were designed to support practices of care.
“Everything that is made can be unmade and remade.” Mathilda Tham
Floor Flag Manifesto workshop?
This workshop was a collaboration with Vicky Carr from Textbook Studios, and Feed, an arts-based project that promotes inclusive, sustainable approaches to infant feeding and public space.
During the workshop, we shared ideas for a floor flag manifesto, symbolising our collective visions for a more inclusive city, which supports feeding and caring for children. The floor flag manifesto will represent the aspirations of all participants for Leeds City Centre.
The final flag will be shared at an event with local councillors, policymakers and other local residents. Together, we will work towards making the experiences of underrepresented communities, including mothers, parents, carers and children more visible and influential in decision-making processes about our urban spaces. The flag will then become a permanant resource used in the artspace at Leeds Art Gallery.
We recognise the historical bias towards masculine and male-centric urban development. By placing care and feeding, including breastfeeding, at the centre, we aim to challenge existing norms and pave the way for a more equitable and compassionate cityscape.
This is about reimagining and reshaping the futures of Leeds - and taking up space with these ideas!
What Is A Floor Flag?
A flag is a piece of fabric with symbols, colours or designs that represent a group, organisation or country. Flags are typically hoisted on a pole and flown in the air as a symbol of identity, unity or allegiance.
We wanted to create a flag on the floor as a symbolic counter to the dominance of patriarchal symbols and ideologies often represented by flying flags.
Placing the flag on the floor subverts the traditional hierarchy and invites people to engage with it on a more intimate level. It is a space for expressing alternative narratives, values and perspectives that challenge the status quo and promote inclusivity, diversity and equality.
What is a Manifesto?
A manifesto is usually a written document that explains what a person or a group believes in and what they want to achieve. It often includes their goals, principles and plans for the future. It is like a written declaration of their intentions or values.
Graphics: Vicky Carr Textbook Studios
Photos: Fiona Finchett
