New hopeful ‘street’ maps of Plymouth will be named after dreams for the future

Artists and performers will draw a new, hopeful map of Plymouth where people will be invited to rename its streets later this week.

A chalk map of Plymouth will be drawn on the floor of the city centre and the public will be asked to name the streets after a hope or dream for the future.

The event, called The Desire Paths, is being held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (1 July until 3 July) and is being created by artistic collective Third Angel. It has been brought to the city by Plymouth Culture in collaboration with Plymouth City Council, funded through the Heritage Active Zone Cultural programme HAZ.

As part of the event, creatives will gather stories of the city from the public for the story-swapping, map-making visual performance.

Hannah Harris, CEO of Plymouth Culture, said: “We’re delighted to bring Third Angel to Plymouth for Desire Paths - their work in other cities has led to thought-provoking discussion about hopes for the future, with maps made on the street that are profound, political or simply playful.

“Keep an eye out for the team this week and we encourage everyone to get involved.”

The performers working with the public to gather stories and ideas for street names include Third Angel’s team plus the following local ‘guest’ creatives:

• Callum Stewart, a Plymouth-based actor who has worked on a variety of city projects including The Hatchling in 2021.
• Bee Jarvis, a writer, musician and artist based in Plymouth. She has recently worked with The Box, Down Stage Write and Theatre Royal in a multitude of different projects from illustration to scriptwriting. 
• Shelley Hodgson, a Creative Producer with Soundart Radio, focusing on engaging and nurturing children and younger audiences’ capacity for and confidence in oracy.