Reshaping the Toon

Reshaping the Toon is a community-led participatory art commission running in Newcastle in the lead up to the NOVUM Summer Festival (August 7–9). Directed by Cabinet of Curiosity Studio the project invites residents to build miniature paper landmarks to construct a collective pop-up paper city. The commission is inspired by Dominoes, Station House Opera’s spectacular moving artwork involving thousands of breezeblocks in a giant domino run across Newcastle city centre on Sunday, August 9.

The project will unite Newcastle communities through creative construction play, paper crafting, shared storytelling, and engagement with local architecture, encouraging participants to connect with their surroundings and one another. Participants, inspired by the chain-reaction logic of Dominoes, will craft paper models of Newcastle landmarks. These creations will join in a collective pop-up paper architectural installation reflecting Newcastle’s architectural heritage and the event’s collaborative spirit, with the potential to re-enact the Dominoes city installation on a miniature scale. Collaborations with community groups and spaces near the Dominoes route will involve creative workshops that focus on construction play using paper and card materials to explore themes of exploration, discovery, and community connections.

Reshaping the Toon by Cabinet of Curiosity Studio commissioned and funded by Newcastle City Council for NOVUM. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.