Copyright

Anna Beresin

Published On

2026-03-05

Page Range

pp. 49–72

Language

  • English

Print Length

24 pages

Loose Arts

The GLUE Collective

  • Anna Beresin (author)
Chapter of: Make/Unmake: Play at the Centre of Culture Change (pp. 49–72)

Introduced to the GLUE Collective at a play conference, the author travels to nearby Birmingham where we meet members of the Collective, artists and activists who work with children in their garden and in pop-up spaces. They crafted the idea of not just loose parts, but loose arts, incomplete, decorated objects ready for making and unmaking. In this chapter we explore unmaking as destruction and reframe unmaking as part of a creative process that is tied to forging relationships. Photos present loose arts and their playful adaptation by children.

Contributors

Anna Beresin

(author)
Professor Emerita of Psychology and Folklore at University of the Arts
https://www.annaberesin.com

Anna Beresin is professor emerita of psychology and folklore from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She co-edits the International Journal of Play and researches children’s folklore, primate physical play, language play, and the connection between play, culture and art. Her books include Play in a Covid Frame: Everyday Pandemic Creativity in a Time of Isolation, which she co-edited with Julia Bishop, and Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling. Both books earned the Opie Prize in Children’s Folklore from the American Folklore Society. Currently working on her first children’s book, Anna can be found at www.annaberesin.com.