Passage to PlayLAND 2024

July – Sept 2024

QUAD, Derby

Attendance: 6600

“We love it! Interactive and immersive, colourful and open ended. Thanks for the fun! Inspired to play
more!” (From an 8-year-old, a 6-year-old and a 31-year-old!)

“I like it when there is no ‘right or wrong’ way to play here, to encourage creative
thinking and imaginative play. My six-year-old daughter is really enjoying it. Her ADHD means she
has a very short attention span, so having lots of different things to see and do is great. Thank you.”

“This is my new happy place!”

“What a beautiful space to be able to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Very
entertaining for children and adults alike. Thank you so much!”

Part of Derby QUAD’s Summer of Play, Passage to PlayLAND brings together two exciting interactive and family-friendly immersive installations into one exhibition experience.

PlayLAB and PlayLAND are shared, playful experiences that invite the gallery visitor to fully engage with the physical space and to consider their local environment. Both projects were commissioned and originally exhibited at LEVEL Centre, Rowsley, and have been adapted for QUAD.

In PlayLAB audiences explore how we create play through the imaginative process of experimenting with the things around us, before being taken to the world of outdoor play in PlayLAND, where the artist invites you to play, sense and immerse yourself in a relaxing playful world. Passage to PlayLAND incorporates participant made artwork and performance and includes participants from LEVEL Centre’s LEVEL Makes and Youth Collective community groups.

Passage to PlayLAND celebrates a decade of John Whall’s artistic journey to bring community made artwork to gallery audiences through high quality digital experiences. Utilising projection and game engine technology, the work fuses participatory practice with immersive digital interactive installations that puts our everyday creativity on show for all to enjoy.