Lines for Kilmarnock
The design and delivery of a new commemorative public realm space as part of WWI centenary
For Lines for Kilmarnock our team collaborated with Jackie Kay, the Scots Makar, to design and deliver a new memorial space in Kilmarnock.
Through creative writing and storytelling workshops with community members, Jackie has written a bespoke poem for the town, 'Lines for Kilmarnock', which will form the centrepiece of the public memorial space and that commemorates personal memories, local stories, and histories of World War I.
Through school activities we designed a bespoke pattern for the project which uses heritage building forms and screen prints created by young people to make a new “Morse Code”
This pattern and the poem are then combined to form gateways into a new memorial garden in the town centre. This space includes sensory planting, lighting, and places to rest. It is located close to the existing war memorial to provide a setting for reflection, gathering and remembering.
The event was opened on Armistice Day with a reading of the Lines for Kilmarnock poem and a shared moment of silence.
Client: East Ayrshire Leisure
Location: Kilmarnock, Scotland
Completion: 2018