By Connor Watson
An art exhibit, The Demolition Project that invites people to come and redesign their city was recently set up in De Montfort University for the day.
Jack Richardson of the Music technology and innovation department invited the group behind the project and the instalment was set up in the Clephan Building for a day on the January 27.
The project was started three years ago by Alisa Oleva and Debbie Kent and has been to London, Manchester, Krasnodar and Moscow.
Debbie Kent said: “The idea is to cut out a piece of the map and all we ask is you leave a reason why.
“We’ve had people say they wanted a park to be there, they didn’t like their old school so got rid of it and some people wanting new shops.
“Students always tend to go for something academic, like their old school or a current part of their campus while people who are homeless tend to get rid of something that is a bad memory for them.”
The project started so people from the area could see the work that goes into shaping a city and to help them realise it isn’t always easy to get rid of something.
Alisa Oleva said: “It certainly overcame expectations and most people see the words demolition and come over to see what we are doing.
“It’s a great way to give people a look at the choices that they don’t get a real say in and then they can discuss consequences of what they change.
“You can really see a divide within cultures. In Moscow nobody removed the Kremlin but in London people got rid of Buckingham Palace and Westminster.”
More information on where the project will be next and how to get it to come to your city can be found atwww.thedemonlitionproject.com.
