Community, Creativity & Conversation - Unlocking New Housing in Euston
ODAC is located in Euston, on the edge of Regent’s Park Estate where the impact of HS2 and wider regeneration is impossible to ignore. We work with the urban change organisations in the area, on the side of the local community. ODAC’s vision is to catalyse artistic creation and collaboration to transform our society and city. The arts bring people together and open the door to conversations and connections that can’t happen any other way.
Our next ambitious project in this context is with Camden Council as part of their wider work on housing with the Euston Housing Delivery Group, set up by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to help deliver much-needed new homes (including affordable) and the facilities to support them in the Euston area.
We believe creativity should be part of tackling the big challenges our society faces – and we want ODAC to be where those decisions are made. Our role is to bring people together, amplify less-heard perspectives, and use participatory arts to turn ideas into action that makes lasting change.
Together, we’re trialling an innovative approach, bringing local communities into the discussion in a creative way with a period of research led by us, followed by Council-led sessions working closely with residents to produce a framework for how new housing can be developed with residents at its heart - moving beyond consultation to meaningful collaboration.
ODAC is pleased to be leading this work in collaboration with key community partners, Somers Town Community Association, Fitzrovia Youth In Action and Hopscotch, and will be working with many other local community organisations and our Camden Collabs groups.
By joining this work, we want to help make sure the voices, ideas and priorities of local people are at the heart of the process. Together, we can imagine a future that is about more than buildings – one that strengthens belonging, trust and opportunity for generations to come.
This builds on ODAC’s long-term collaborations with residents and people with lived experience of housing insecurity. Projects like the Story Trail – a permanent public art route shaped by local people – and One Roof – a creative platform led by the homelessness-experienced community – show how imagination and participation can reshape places and futures.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
We’ll be delivering a newly commissioned interactive creative community workshop Making/Conversation, led by artist Caitlin Strongarm and co-facilitated with creative producer Sarah Nicholl, to make a large-scale interactive model neighbourhood and explore the complexities of housing, with specific community groups around Euston in September and October.
Save the dates: Wednesday 29th October - Saturday 1st November for Blueprints: a festival of ideas for housing, with more information about upcoming workshops coming soon - check out our Instagram @olddiorama or keep in touch in other ways here.
