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Everyone’s Backyard

 

Place: Poland  

Timeframe:  Long term project  

Participants:  community and experts 

Goal:  community engagement and urban revitalization 

 

WHAT IS IT?

Izabela Rutkowska is a visual artist who conducted a community art project in Wrocław, Poland. 

She designed an eight-meter-long hedgehog consisting of separate spikes which would come together only through cooperation. In August 2015, she regularly brought the hedgehog in various nooks and crannies of the yard and observed how the residents got used to the animal and how they came up with different interactions with it. At the official ending of the project, both the residents and her wanted to continue the activities. Therefore they exchanged letters, chatted on Facebook, until finally they decided to collect money together on the polakpotrafi.pl crowdfunding site – in order to take the hedgehog and kids living in the houses around our yard for a week-long vacation at the Hedgehog Rehabilitation Center in Kłodzko. It was possible thanks to the involvement of families, friends and fellow artists.  

 

WHY WAS IT A SUCCESS?

  • The project transformed from an art installation into a community-driven initiative for neighborhood improvement.
  • It fostered stronger connections among residents who previously didn’t know each other well.
  • The community’s efforts led to a successful participatory budget application for backyard renovation.

This case study demonstrates how participatory art can evolve into meaningful urban development, empowering local communities to shape their environment.  

 

HOW TO?

Project Phases 

  • Hedgehog: Rutkowska designed an 8-meter inflatable hedgehog, which became a catalyst for community interaction. 
  • Vacation: The artist and local children took the hedgehog on a trip to a Hedgehog Rehabilitation Center, fostering community bonds. 
  • Competition: Residents proposed and voted on ideas to improve their neighborhood. 
  • Participatory Budget: The community submitted a yard redevelopment project to Wrocław’s participatory budget initiative. 
  • Movie Premiere: A documentary about the project was screened, inspiring discussions about revitalization across Poland. 
  • Co-designing: Residents worked with professionals to develop guidelines for the backyard’s redesign.  

 

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