our own little island
Daniel Pryde-Jarman & Jane Ball
led neon text installation, 368cm x 200cm
Starley Housing Co-operative, Vicroft Court
This artwork is a collaboration between artists Daniel Pryde-Jarman and Jane Ball that responds to the activist history of the Starley Road neighbourhood. It forms a tribute to the agency and determination of the residents who saved their street from demolition, and initiated the city’s first self-managed housing cooperative, still surviving after 40 years.
The self-titled work, our own little island, is an led neon text piece installed within the windows of the Starley Housing Co-operative communal room in Vicroft Court, opposite the former Ikea building. The exact location of the Ikea building was also influenced by the community of Starley Rd, who successfully campaigned to have the building lowered and moved by 62 feet further from their homes. The project aims to engage with current residents and explore the potential to propose new models for living and alternate notions of home.
The words themselves come from a quote in the Coventry Telegraph by resident Alan Mulholland who continues to live in Vicroft Court. When asked about the Starley Housing Cooperative he said:
‘We have our own little island in the middle of the city.’
During Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture, Coventry Artspace has awarded bursaries for local artists to create work for Coventry communities. This project is inspired by artists, all over the world, who have found ways to bring moments of light to their neighbourhoods during the pandemic by sharing their work in windows, balconies and on the streets.
The project is funded by Arts Council England, National Lottery Community Fund, Coventry City Council and Coventry City of Culture Trust (CCCT) and builds on the Window Wanderland trails led by CCCT in 2021. Via the audio App ECHOES, audiences can listen to the featured artists and the location of their work.
Photo credit: Brian Fawcus
