Shoreditch Park, located in the London Borough of Hackney, is a beloved green space – lined with trees and animated daily by play, dog-walking, sport, and moments of quiet wellbeing. Tasked with delivering a series of artistic interventions, the project included wayfinding markers around the park’s perimeter, bespoke gateway lettering integrated into the landscape, and a new 40-metre narrative fence – a functional public artwork positioned between the adventure playground and sports field.
The fence was constructed from reclaimed pallet timber, giving it a weathered, textured, and organic character. Etched along its entire length are original poems and two-word kennings written by local after-schoolers attending workshops led by the Ministry of Stories. Each poem is typeset in a unique font, guiding the reader’s eye and allowing multiple narrative threads to flow continuously across the full stretch of the fence.
To inspire the writing, young participants met with local ecologists, historians, archaeologists, artists, and musicians. With the support of professional writing tutors, they transformed the facts and stories they uncovered into powerful poetic expressions – each one left completely unedited to preserve the authors’ voices.
A line from one of the poems – “If you write a story, this is where it takes place” – was chosen to run along the full length of the fence, acting as a connective spine and drawing visitors in from afar.
This piece celebrates place through the eyes of its youngest storytellers – inviting passersby to read, reflect, and reimagine the park as a living, layered narrative.
Fabrication and installation by Standard 8.
