A potluck conversation series will take place inside The Beast. Each potluck dinner will be a host to lively discussions around different ideas and themes inspired by The Beast. John Preus’ The Beast is an architectural intervention and companion public program that raises questions about the use and social value of public space. Intertwining spectacle and site, The Beast become a new space for cultural inquiry, public dialogue and creative production within the Hyde Park Art Center.

Colin Ward was an English architect, writer, organizer, urban planner, and anarchist thinker devoted to forms of non-authoritarian social organization, with a keen interest in the experience of children within urban environments. In 1971, he became the Education Officer for the Town and Country Planning Association. He published widely on education, architecture and town planning. His most influential book was The Child In The City (1978), about children’s street culture. From 1995-6, Ward was Centennial Professor of Housing and Social Policy at the London School of Economics. He died in 2010. The potlucks are named in his honor, as a form to think about many of the things that he spent his life thinking and writing about.

Bring your thoughts, your ideas, and food or drink to share during the presentation.