Ogilvychange address riot-hit area with a baby-faced art project

Date
13 August 2012

A year on from the riots and the Olympic jamboree we’ve all been so consumed with has rather overshadowed this uncomfortable anniversary. But if you know where to look there are still communities struggling to come to terms with and move on from the events of 12 months ago. As you’d hope and expect, various artistic endeavours (such as the Peckham Peace Wall) have been launched to try and help make sense of the riots and perhaps one of the most interesting is happening in Woolwich, southeast London.

Based on the broken windows theory – that one visual manifestation of disrepair begets another and so on until whole areas are dragged down – Ogilvychange has launched the Babyface project. On a road hit by the disturbances last August, various shutters have been painted with the portraits of babies from the local area, submitted by friends and family members.

It’s an interesting approach to a common problem, literally reflecting the community’s future back on potential anti-social perpetrators. Early signs seem to be encouraging that it is having an effect, although it remains to be seen whether this is a viable longterm solution for other communities.

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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