futurefarmers’ wooden beachship rolls along blackpool coastline inviting collaboration

futurefarmers encourages collaboration and interaction

The Beachship is a ten-day public art installation created by team La Fortuna of international artist constellation Futurefarmers that rolls along the coastline in Blackpool, UK. The project facilitates a collaborative narrative among locals, visitors, and nature, blending imagination to resolve underlying conflicts. Following its initial voyage, this event will continue in the beach city as an ongoing ecological and social initiative, reinforcing community connections and offering a shared vision for the future.

beachship brings people together in the tourist city of blackpool

Beachship was commissioned by Blackpool’s LeftCoast, and realized by Albert Fuster, Masao Rong, Runyu Li, and Vivian Rustige of design studio Futurefarmers. Through co-building, installations, designed tools, costumes, and workshops, the team created a dynamic stage where participants adopt various roles to shape a narrative, turning the entire experience into a performance. It encourages future-oriented imagination through a deep connection with nature, renewing the bond between residents and the beach.

Blackpool is a tourist city in North England known as a coast resort for the British. From the 1960s, the rise of overseas holidays and lack of investment lead to a long-term economic decrease, causing a series of social issues. The tourist industry in Blackpool has created a wave that distances communities, hindering locals’ ability to enjoy and discuss natural spaces, and fostering narrative tension between different groups. Residents, tourists, refugees, and other groups need find ways to redefine their identities to foster cooperation. Addressing this, Beachship is a community-centric initiative that sparks collaboration, interaction, and joy along the coast.

project info:

name: Beachship

designer: La Fortuna of Futurefarmers

design team: Albert Fuster, Masao Rong, Runyu Li, Vivian Rustige

location: Blackpool, United Kingdom

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.