The installation crew of Pedro and Luke were ready for every gambit and happily shut down roads, alleys, and sidewalks with RedBall – requiring only a constant supply of coffee. Pedro spent some time teaching Christina Spanish while Luke was our expert in all things local, underground, and late night. They were a great team, and not nearly the shady fellows as I was led to believe.

I am very grateful to the people of Norwich who were incredibly embracing of the work in spirit and action, and built a daily community that was unique in my experience and a pleasure to join. Our fantastic volunteers were energetic, devoted, and many gave there time across the whole project. Christina Milan, my intrepid assistant, when not chatting with the public was working out the coordinates of the nearest convergence of cappuccino and croissant. She also wrote all the daily posts for Norwich but this one, often from on site, and allowed me the chance to step back and see the work.

thanks to everyone for sharing the moment

Kurt

The project’s avid viewers all made their appearances to say farewell and reminisce about their experiences with the project, and the staff appreciated the kindness of the city. We got to know many of you, seeing your pictures, hearing your stories, learning your city’s history–we will miss it all!

A big thank-you to those who embraced the project, and to those who worked so hard to make this possible for one of RedBall’s longest runs!

- Christina

The weather was kind to Norwich today, drawing out crowds of visitors to picnic in front of RedBall. Visitors rushed under and through the alley all day laughing at its odd position and stopping for photo evidence of their citing. Surprise of scale and possibility of placement were certainly at work with viewers. Members of the NNF staff found themselves captivated by the piece, sitting in the grass and staring straight as if an event were about to take place. A group of international media associates came in the later afternoon to capture the piece, and Kurt was interviewed by two Chinese TV stations and one Egyptian news beauru. Shops and stores around the site buzzed with talk about the piece, provoking employees and guests to momentarily depart from their duties and enjoy the piece. All around, the day was memorable.

The piece was striking in the warm weather, beaming red and wedged prominently at the foot of the main access ramp to the castle. Flanked between two black gates and set against the lush vegetation of the surrounding lawn area from the top of the mound, RedBall was also set within the vantage point of visitors within the castle looking out, those passing under the arches of the elevated ramp to the mound, and those picnicking in the surrounding fields.

The temporary obstruction of the portal forced visitors to take the detour around the side of the castle to the relatively new lift access point. About three hours after the project’s installation, however, the lift stopped functioning properly, upon which the staff and volunteers quickly worked to let people in–aside from children and perhaps a few adults who had made the executive decision to climb underneath the piece to the other side. We look forward tomorrow’s day above St. Gregory’s Alley…

Placement of RedBall itself was unusual, as it needed to be inflated while it was hanging within the stairwell. It was rigged by the festival crew and then was slowly settled and secured in place. Once it was installed, the rest of the day began with curious visitors who had come to see the Sainsbury’s expansive collection in fine and decorative arts–not expecting the ball at all! Their observations were quite, no touching. They were polite and didn’t reserve their delight upon the surprise of seeing the piece just sitting ever-so-delicately on top of a massive opening in the main floor. The tide of people soon shifted to those who had come just to see the ball, bringing with them their thoughts and opinions about how this site compared with the other sites.

At this point in the project with three sites left, there were many visitors who felt the need to recap their experience with the piece to date, using the final three upcoming sites (Norwich Castle, St. Gregory’s Alley and Norwich Cathedral) as the final testament to what to they feel has been a meaningful exploration of their own city. One story recounted a particular site, York’s Alley: the visitor had not been through that alley in nearly forty years, and until he was reintroduced to it, he did not realize the emotional attachments that could be made with architectural spaces. He had literally relived a childhood memory that he had not revisted in a long time.

The night ended with multiple activities for Sainsbury’s museum at night late opening. Amongst the music, open galleries, and festival activities, the arts were thriving with RedBall overlooking. There was a fantastic turnout for the evening events, which was enjoyable to all and showed everyone in their best light.

BBC East radio dropped by for an interview and spent some time wrangling children for that perfect audio moment, should run tomorrow if you want to hear how they did.

The sun prompted action. The piece was challenged with more physicality than any of its other sites at Norwich, at least by the children. Initially there were quiet conversations between parents and children as if a protocol had to be established, stemming from hesitation with what they were and were not allowed to do. Almost instinctively, this was quickly converted into tactile engagement. Children prepped themselves for a leap into RedBall by creating a runway starting at the back of the courtyard.

When it came to adults RedBall’s visceral quality prompted more than a few instances where fun was the end result of hesitation. This is a pinnacle moment for our viewers in Norwich–the moment where they resign resistance to sneak a touch.

The department was helpful in keeping the ball secure while the project worked to draw attention to safety on the road and at the same time engage audiences with with the project’s optimism and humor wedged into a location of respected utility. The activity of people surrounding the piece provoked much physicality in the warm weather. When a call dispatch sounded later in the day, the moment viewers had waited for finally happened: the blue lights outside of the firehouse went off and a bright red firetruck exited the station just near RedBall. Luckily, all was well. Safety and the ball remained in tact.

Thank you to the team at the Norwich Fire Station for your enthusiasm and curiosity throughout the project. We look forward to tomorrow!

Viewers of the project were interesting in sharing the site’s history: Lych Gate used to be the passageway for coffins entering the cemetery as well as the main entrance to the church. There were a few that hypothesized that the project was making a political statement; others theorized that there were greater powers at work.

But throughout the heavy foot-traffic, the consensus was that despite it being at a site barely large enough for RedBall, the site provoked contemplation, physical interaction, and curiosity as to how RedBall’s next location might differ.

Passersby who had never heard of the project before its appearance in their backyard challenged the staff with their curiosities, but as a nice balance, we also had a fair amount of visitors show up with their flyers for the project in-hand, having kept track of the ball’s travel. We gained more fans to our younger audience with boys and girls from the Norwich School, who join ranks with the few others who have been brave enough to charge the ball on-site.

RedBall viewers had their finest vantage point from across the river looking at the Pull’s Ferry along Lower Close road, which at one point was a crucial asset to the town. The locals who stopped by were quite proud to share its history; the road used to be a canal that ended near what is now the site of the Norwich Cathedral. The massive stones used to build the cathedral were floated to the site from France via this very site under the Ferry Lane House and to the cathedral to construct this monumental architectural landmark. Locals were also enthusiastic to talk about the flint that surrounded RedBall on Ferry Lane House itself. Flint is a stone that is developed naturally in Norwich, which is quite useful because given Norwich’s location, brick is not naturally developed…which explains why flint is everywhere and why it is so popular! Seeing RedBall next to it makes it feel closer to its location.

A big thank you to our repeat visitors–we enjoy speaking with you every day!