Aerial wide shot of players playing a game.

Street Tape Games

2020–2022

A direct response to COVID-19, Street Tape Games is a temporary installation that invites the public to play beloved street and playground games redesigned with social distancing.

Using social-distancing tapes to create playful markings on the ground, Street Tape Games is about reactivating public space and encouraging the community to come out and play again after lockdown. Through facilitated play sessions, imagine playing childhood favourites such as Foursquare, Tunnelball, and What’s the Time, Mr Wolf without body contact or touch.

Initially conceptualised as part of the Test Sites Online 2020 program and created in collaboration with Chad Toprak, Street Tape Games was presented at the following:

  • Siteworks (Melbourne, 2020)
  • Fawkner Festa (Melbourne, 2021)
  • Freeplay Independent Games Festival (Melbourne, 2021)
  • JUMP Festival (London, 2021)
  • Young V&A’s Play in the Pandemic virtual exhibition (online, 2022)

Read more about the conceptualisation and design of Street Tape Games at the Play Observatory and in our JUMP Festival interview.

The project is supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants and Festivals Moreland Development Program. It was also official selected for showcase at Freeplay Parallels 2020 during Melbourne International Games Week.

Project Website
Additional Credits & Info:

Collaborator: Chad Toprak

Project supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants and Festivals Moreland Development Program.

Photography: Helen Kwok & Chad Toprak (unless otherwise specified on photo caption).

Showcase: Freeplay Parallels 2020

Freeplay Parallels 2020 Official Selection Badge
Close-up of a player posing in a game.
A group of players smiling at each other in the playspace.
Artists Helen Kwok and Chad Toprak applying tape for the installation.
Wide shot of Street Tape Games installation.
Artists of Street Tape Games, Helen Kwok and Chad Toprak.
A group of kids playing a game.
Players interacting with one another on the playspace.
Players and facilitator playing a game together.
Players posing and holding colourful umbrellas during a game.
A group of players holding their umbrellas in the air during a game.
Wide shot of Street Tape Games at Queensbridge Square, Southbank.
Players breaking out in laughter during a game in Street Tape Games.
Players freeze on a coloured tape during a game in Street Tape Games.
Players standing in a line on the Street Tape Games installation, ready to play a game.
Players running to the social distancing marker on the Street Tape Games installation.
Players posing in a circle during a game of Street Tape Games with the facilitator standing in the middle.
Facilitator engaging with a player on the Street Tape Games installation.
Artists Chad Toprak and Helen Kwok at the installation of Street Tape Games at Queensbridge Square.
A kid jumping along a tape of Street Tape Games in Waltham Forest, London.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole
Mother and child ready to make their move during a game of Street Tape Games.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole
Facilitator turning around to spot players standing on different tapes of the Street Tape Games installation.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole
Players standing in a line and ready to make a move on the Street Tape Games installation.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole
A player mid-jump during a game played on the Street Tape Games installation in Waltham Forest, London.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole
A player doing a cartwheel on the Street Tape Games installation.
Photographer: Ben Peter Catchpole