Suggested age: 4+
‘Visioning Play’ is an activity that uses participants’ memories of play spaces to create visions of their desired future playground, expressed through art making. Children affected by displacement might not have had opportunities to enjoy play spaces, or might have experienced traumatic events involving friends, family or the spaces in which they used to play. The facilitators should be sensitive to children’s individual situations and, as with all other tools, should respect children’s decisions around whether or not to participate. A guided visualisation led by the facilitator can engage participants’ imaginations as they navigate memories, in order to dream and reach new ideas.
For example, Visioning play was used in a playground project (CatalyticAction) to express visions of play and play environments among child participants. The picture above shows a child’s collage that includes the most important elements for her ideal play space: greenery and flowers, her friends, a fence (to feel safe) and a swing set for her younger siblings.
