As part of Portsmouth’s Torch Relay celebrations, Portsmouth artist, Jon Adams, will be planting 4,000 flags made by children from schools in Portsmouth and Twin City Caen, France. The event will take place at Fratton Park early on Monday July 16 to wave goodbye to the Torch and see it on its way to the next destination.
4000 flags in Fratton Park
The event is part of Dysarticulate, Jon’s project which encourages people to become an‘artist for a day’ participating in a huge interactive artwork which celebrates books, words and the landscape by making ‘flags’ from recycled book pages. Since 2010, flag-making and planting events have happened all over the country in schools and in public spaces resulting in over 50,000 flags being made and displayed. Dysarticulate is influenced by Jon’s dyslexia and his love of hidden meaning. One aim of the project is to fuel conversation and debate about issues surrounding disability, while still being enjoyable and accessible to all.
He said: “I wanted to do something that was fun, looked great and most importantly that everyone could do to celebrate the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Despite having dyslexia, I’ve always loved books. Dysarticulate gives old books a new lease of life, the transformation makes people view and respect them in a new, exciting way.”
It was seven years ago, on the day London was chosen to host the 2012 Olympic Games that Jon, who was unemployed at the time, decided to change his life to become the artist that he had always wanted to be. He is now artist in residence at the University of Portsmouth where he is involved in several unusual artistic ventures.
Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: Dysarticulate is one of over 2,700 projects using the Inspire mark across the United Kingdom. I’d like to thank The University of Portsmouth for all their support and hard work using the power of the Games to inspire change.”
The Inspire programme was launched in March 2008 and the first culture award was made in the South East to Our Sporting Life that October. Since then there have been over 500 cultural events and 5,000 workshops in the region attracting attendances or participants of circa 1, 278, 500 people. By the end of the summer we anticipate over 2 million people in the South East will have taken part in the Cultural Olympiad, a cultural celebration of the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.
