Activation Station at Barking Station

Activation Station aims to explore perceptions of safety outside Barking Station. By listening to residents, businesses and people who use the station, the project aims to understand perceptions of safety in and around the Station and pilot creative ideas to make the area feel safer!

Throughout the months of November and December Barking station will host a number of creative ‘activations’ designed by local people to improve perceptions of safety, restore a sense of pride and encourage people to better connect with one another.

Following 3 months of community engagement led by local social enterprise Street Space, the ‘activations’ have been developed to respond to some of the things that local residents felt made the station feel unsafe. These include a lack of pride, care and ownership of the station area and a lack of connection to other people when travelling through and out of the station building.

Look out for greening, artwork and a programme of performances at Barking Station and fill in our survey to let us know what you think.



Activation Station aims to explore perceptions of safety outside Barking Station. By listening to residents, businesses and people who use the station, the project aims to understand perceptions of safety in and around the Station and pilot creative ideas to make the area feel safer!

Throughout the months of November and December Barking station will host a number of creative ‘activations’ designed by local people to improve perceptions of safety, restore a sense of pride and encourage people to better connect with one another.

Following 3 months of community engagement led by local social enterprise Street Space, the ‘activations’ have been developed to respond to some of the things that local residents felt made the station feel unsafe. These include a lack of pride, care and ownership of the station area and a lack of connection to other people when travelling through and out of the station building.

Look out for greening, artwork and a programme of performances at Barking Station and fill in our survey to let us know what you think.



  • Meet the artist: Adriana Jaros

    Adriana's three sculptures focus on elements of joy, togetherness and pride about the Barking area. The shapes and forms are evocative of Barking, using Barking Abbey and the Barking skyline as references.

    Adriana is an interdisciplinary artist from Caracas, Venezuela, based in London. She is passionate about colour, materials, and the visual language as the means to connect by imagining worlds or objects that can become experiences and moments of joy.

    "Informed by intense and diverse emotions, I aim to create pieces that can nurture and evoke a state of mind, conscious of our human conditions through colour, shapes and evocative thoughts. Bringing to the surface my life's experiences which derive from deeply emotional and social contrasts. The search for space, balance, and an aesthetical language as a way of belonging and mental wellbeing are key elements of my practice."

    @adrianajarosdesign

    adrianajaros.com

  • Meet the artist: Susanna Wallis

    Susanna's illustrations placed on the pavement outside the station aim to highlight the hidden gems and talents of the borough.

    Susanna is an illustrator, textile artist and maker. She has extensive craft skills and recently started to incorporate illustrations in her work, particularly on the local influences of heritage, social commentary and relevance, culture, nature, the environment and regeneration.

    "My artwork is approachable to all and has the authenticity of someone who was born and grew up in the borough, subsequently knowing the area and its people very well."

    @susannawallis

  • Meet the artist: Emmanuel Oreyeni

    Emmanuel's graphic artwork "Music Tracks" is about music and the part it plays in commuting. The piece is centred around the amalgamation of sounds that surround us in an urban environment and how we can escape through music.

    Emmanuel Oreyeni AKA Oreyeni Arts is a young artist and muralist based in Barking. Although early in his career, Oreyeni Arts has already been dedicated to contributing to his community through his paintings, murals, designs and concept artwork, drawing people, making community comics and more.

    "My artwork is made to inspire people. There is no other way to describe it."

    @oreyeno_arts

    oreyeniarts.com

  • Performance Commission

    We are looking for local musicians, dancers, performers of any kind to participate in ‘activating’ Barking Station with their work to bring life and creativity to the space. Through this work we aim to monitor the impact of the performances on how people feel, think and behave in the space and understand its effect on perceptions of safety. All local performers are welcome to submit their works for consideration. All mediums and styles are welcomed. You must provide all equipment. No access to mains/electricity.

    We are offering £30 p/h for your time.

    For more information, apply email tegan@wearestreetspace.org

    Or book a slot at https://www.activationstation.co.uk

  • Plant Day

    What an amazing launch we had at the weekend for Activation Station! Thanks to all those who came down and made the day so brilliant.


    Building on previous learning, these pilots focus on how greening, performance and art can improve perceptions of safety, restore a sense of pride and make people feel more connected to one another.


    For the launch, we invited the communities of Barking to come down and join us in planting over 100 plants. The idea being we want to give the people of Barking ownership over the space and ignite pride and connectivity.


    With thanks to everyone who came down to plant, Tom Dunnett & band for their amazing music, to artists Emmanuel Oreyeni, Adriana Jaros, and Susanna Wallis, and Bench Studios for fabricating the fabulous planters and anyone else we may have forgotten!

    Photo credit: Bench Studios

    Meet the artist: Adriana Jaros

    @adrianajarosdesign

    Adrianajaros.com

Page last updated: 29 Apr 2022, 10:22 AM