Bite the Biscuit Neighborhood Market
LOCATION: HULL
The market expressed our interest in community and diverse economies, open spaces where people are free to explore initiative and ways of living well together.
It took place weekly, first at the former St. Matthews Church and later across the street at the St. Matthews Parish Hall.
There were stalls, a cafe area with warm beverages, language exchange, musical improvisation (including a grand piano), a space for children, board games, occasional art interventions and the radio.
There was also a thing called the Flower Frame, with changing arrangements each week, where people could get their picture taken.
The market was an open, little-regulated space where people could feel at home and experiment. It was open to different initiatives that came in through the big red doors or ones that emerged spontaneously in conversation.
COMPOST
The market was held in the former St. Matthews Church, purchased by a local housing charity after having laid empty for 5 years. We wanted the community to return to this historical space without any impositions as to how they should inhabit it. We spent many hours cleaning, painting, decorating with flowers, preparing spaces for children to play, for people to rest. Also - offering free stalls, talking, sharing tea and biscuits. Little by little the space started filling up with stalls, children playing, craft groups… progressively configuring what became a weekly event every Thursday.
GERMINATE
A new kind of market emerged from this composting, one that includes hybrid forms, internal networks of collaborating and hanging out, playful experimentation.
CARE
Groups were formed in the market, friendship groups, support groups. Such groups and the individuals that formed them cared for the market, accompanying it through changes. Feedback from them helped us reflect on the transformations and the challenges that kept occurring.
