Strand Avian Society

“A new researcher is needed to finish this map: That’s you.”

Become an investigator looking for clues that reveal the hidden nature of the Strand Avian Society. 

In 2024 Now Play This partnered with Strand Aldwych and City Lions to produce a series of workshops for young people in the borough of Westminster, centred around the Strand pedestrianised space. Typically people think of Westminster as being the heart of London, with huge shopping plazas and towering skyscrapers, but the borough spans a huge area, all the way up to West Kilburn and Kensal Rise. The pedestrianisation of the Strand is an initiative designed to welcome local communities to the area, but distance and preconceptions of the Strand mean that many don’t feel welcome. Through a series of game-making and place-making workshops with young people through City Lions and at Now Play This festival, we aimed to invite people to find their own place in the Strand and feel some ownership over the changing landscape.

The culmination of this project is a site-specific game designed to be played on the Strand. Part street-game, part architectural scavenger hunt, the Strand Avian Society invites players to look at the urban landscape from a non-human perspective.

Strand Avian Society can be played solo or with friends, and a print-and-play can be downloaded here.

Strand Avian Society Credits

Devised by:
Arlo Howard
Mel Frances
Chloe Mashiter

Design and Illustration:
Viviane Schwarz

Producer:
Nick Murray