We’re excited to announce GoodGame, a new project that will explore the positive impact games can have on our lives, communities and the places we live. Artists Anna Horton Cremin and Gizzago will work with communities in Smethwick to create games inspired by the unique identity of the area and local challenges.

Workshops will take place with residents and community groups held in indoor and outdoor community spaces, as a way of bringing people together in new and unexpected ways. The artists will work with community groups to create unique games for each place, informed by the needs of residents and the unique identity of the area. They will look at the challenges facing those communities and use the medium of games to come up with creative responses.

We’ll look at games in a whole other way: as valuable, engaging tools that can improve people’s lives, not just a form of entertainment. Games can create immersive worlds, encourage collaboration and empathy and motivate us to solve problems. They are now an essential part of the fabric of our society and culture but are often categorised as purely entertainment or escapism. We want to unlock the empowerment and skills development inherent in games to benefit communities in the Black Country.

We’ll be producing a community games toolkit which we will present along with the outcomes of the projects at an event later this year. We hope that other arts, community and voluntary organisations can benefit from the learning outcomes of the project.

GoodGame is supported by Creative Black Country and funding from Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts and Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All.

Get Involved

Paid Artist Commission:
We are seeking an emerging/ early career artist to develop new work as part of the project, working alongside Ampersand Projects, Anna Horton-Cremin and Gizzago to develop participatory activities and artworks. We are seeking an artist that is based in The Black Country or Birmingham that is at the early stages of their artistic career (less than three years from graduation). This is an ideal opportunity to explore new ways of working with communities on a research-in-action project.

For further details of this commission, please click here. Closes Friday 2nd March, 5pm.

Young Creative Producers:
Are you aged 16 - 25 and interested in developing your skills on a creative project? Ampersand Projects are looking for three young people from The Black Country and Birmingham to volunteer on the GoodGame project. You’ll support Ampersand Projects and the artists with the delivery of workshops and have creative input into how they are developed and run. You’ll also receive training on delivering your own projects and working with communities. You don’t need any techy skills such as coding, just an enthusiasm for playing games and working with communities.

Interested? Please use this 5 minute form to tell us a little bit about you and why you’d like to get involved. Closes Friday 2nd March, 5pm.

Community Groups:
Are you involved in a community or voluntary organisation in Smethwick or Bearwood? We’re seeking organisations or groups to get involved - please get in touch with Matt Andrews to discuss further: matt.andrews@ampersandprojects.org