Grue 2023 Exploring a Community Built Cardboard Wonderland
Step into the extraordinary world of Grue, our annual community art project. This year Grue transformed Scarborough Library's top floor into a mesmerizing wonderland, bringing people together in a celebration of the transformative power of creativity.
Grue developed as an experiment in how creativity and community can transform a place. Beginning with nothing more than an enormous pile of waste card and an empty room, we ran a series of papercraft workshops in which we helped our local community build a magical world filled with strange plants and animals for visitors to explore.
This year, we invite visitors to step through a hidden door in a disused store room on the top floor of Scarborough Library and into a secret mission through a fantastical world. They'll travel through dense forests and across icy regions to discover forgotten creatures, both big and small.
Over 1100 people have already experienced the enchantment of Grue since opening on the 2nd of December.
520 community members built together in workshops, crafting hundreds of feathers, leaves, sea creatures, plants, nests, scales, and more.
300 heavy chairs were gracefully moved to make way for our iconic cardboard walls.
20 people installed Grue over 10 days (approximately 400 cups of tea, 1000 biscuits and 5 tins of Quality Street were consumed during this time).
6 talented actors brought the magical world of Grue to life.
Grue made headlines with a feature on BBC Look North and a front-page appearance in the Yorkshire Post.
"I was stunned and taken aback by how beautiful and intricate it was." - Visitor
This is our third Grue! Some of you have been building with us from the start, and many more have joined us along the way, creating barnacles and houses, trees and succulents, tube worms and fairy houses. Thank you to every one of you who has cut, folded and stuck some part of Grue. Together, we've created something extraordinary.
We designed Grue in partnership with Arcade with support from G . F Smith, Scarborough Library, and Scarborough Fair.
Special thanks to our funders, Yorkshire Coast BID & Arts Council England.
Beautiful photography by Msc1photography, with enchanting sound design by Ideosound.
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