The Car Wrestlers: Trading Rules, Changing Roles
A growing compendium: Enabling ambiguity for questioning, negotiating and altering ‘roles’ when designing and performing Participatory Design workshops with children.

By Annelies Vaneycken / The Office of Public Play

urban office 
Monday 24 – Friday 28 April, 10h00-17h00 at Z33

interactive presentation
Thursday 27 April, 16h00-17h00 at Z33

reflective discussion
Annelies Vaneycken / The Office of Public Play in dialogue with Sven de Visscher
Friday 28 April, 10h00-12h00 at Z33

During the TRADERS Open School, the Office for Public Play will install her office in Z33. During her 5-day working residency, she will zoom-in on a particular moment, The Car Wrestlers, from one of her past Participatory Design workshop sessions with children; and perform a ‘public analysis’. Making the process and outcome of the analysis public does not only imply that the process will be made visible to ‘the public’ but also invites various publics — other artists and designers, peers, as well as citizens — to participate in reflecting on what happened, by focusing on ambiguity in rule- and role-making when designing and performing Participatory Design workshops with children. What is the role of ambiguity as enabler for the negotiation of rules and roles when designing and performing Participatory Design workshops with children? is the main question that will direct the analyse and reflections on the situations generated during The Car Wrestlers. The analysis will be generated through dialogues, re-enactments, visualisations and writings. The Office for Public Play will encounter and exchange with the publics in her urban office or during walks, out in the streets. The shared discussions and reflections hope to generate new insights and knowledge for all participants involved. The outcome will take the form of a growing compendium on ambiguity in rule- and role-making when designing and performing Participatory Design workshops with children.