Family-in-Residence: The Lakes Estate

MK Gallery Project Space

“Family doesn’t cover it. It was a big flock. Everyone helped each other.” (Resident, The Lakes Estate)

April’s exhibition has been co-created with members of the Lakes Estate, which is MK Gallery’s extended Family-in-Residence.

Construction of the Lakes Estate took place between 1968 – 1975. On arrival, new residents were presented with an information pack inviting them to take part in the community forum. They were encouraged to publish their articles, notes, letters and small ads in the fortnightly 1p newspaper titled The Echo.

MK Gallery has run creative sessions as part of the youth club, run by Milton Keynes Youth Network and Youth Faculty, at the Warren in Serpentine Court. Working with volunteers associated with CAYAC, a group reformulating spaces for the Lakes community, we have created an ‘echo chamber’ in which information and ideas are amplified. The results of the co-production will feature in the Summer 2017 issue of the City Club newspaper.

City Club was the leisure complex designed to occupy a block of Central Milton Keynes in the early 1970s. An additional theme park, called Cowcommon Canyon, was proposed for the Bletchley clay pits, neighbouring the Lakes Estate. The community will consider these original plans in developing their exhibition and publication with MK Gallery.

Families are invited to drop into the Project Space, Thursday – Saturday, 12-7pm, to use our materials to create their own text and sound experiments.

Lakes residents, past and present, are invited to add materials to April’s accumulative exhibition, of archival documents, photographs and sound experiments and recorded reminiscences.