Hackney playbus
Building Community through Play
Hackney Playbus: Building/Bringing in Community through Play
Hackney Playbus, set up in 1972 to provide free play and fun activities to pre-school children and offer support to their families, was conceived by Centerprise, a small group of visionary, community-oriented ‘revolutionaries’ committed to social justice and social equality. The Playbus, a double-decker converted bus which moved around one of the most deprived neighbourhoods of Hackney, Kingsmead Estate, was envisaged by its founders as having agency and transforming properties in its own right. It was a Playbus with a mission. “A quiet revolution was taking place in pre-school provision. In the 1970s, especially in Hackney, there was very little pre-school provision for children... The idea was to act as a catalyst for new playgroups to emerge and to provide a valuable service,” recounted Anthony Kendall, one of its co-founders, in an interview with A Hackney Autobiography project.
Nearly 50 years on, and despite the proliferation of free playgroups and the shift in demographics, the Playbus still operates in the heart of the community and moves around disadvantaged estates in Hackney. Its creative, learning, and socialising opportunities attract both middle and working class families. “What I love about the Playbus is that it’s free, outdoors, and is for both parent and child. I’ve made invaluable friendships through the Playbus,” one of the mothers told me. “It’s a community for me. Before and after giving birth to my three-month old second child, I felt that everyone was supportive,” said another woman. For H, mother of two who lives with her mother-in-law in a one-bedroom council flat, the Playbus is a breathing space for her and the children. “I have two children and we live in the living room of my mother-in-law’s. It’s a one-bed room flat. We have no garden and not many toys. I also do not have the same toys and activities they offer here…”
The majority of photographs were taken in the spring and summer of 2019. The Playbus is indeed the catalyst and agent which brings in/and builds community. It provides a safe, nurturing environment for children to socialise, explore, develop, and be imaginative. It’s an example of everything convivial, inclusive, dignified and creative about community, public space, our streets and our cities. An example of commitment to our shared humanity!
