Spotlight on Jonny

August 17, 2016

Jonny has been a guardian with us since March and has managed to do a huge 78 hours of volunteering in that time! This is what he has to say about being a property guardian with Dot Dot Dot:

jonny stockbridge I’m a visual artist and I mostly work with the public on all kinds of creative endeavours. After spending three months traveling around South East Asia and running art workshops in cafes and bars in the Philippines I got back at the beginning of February this year and stayed at a friends place while he was on holiday.

Whilst looking for a new place to live, I came across Dot Dot Dot which seemed to be totally in rhythm with what I was looking for: A more affordable rent and the opportunity to engage with my local community through volunteer work.

I moved to Abbey Wood in March. After meeting up with Claudia from The Link, a really great community centre with all kinds of facilities, we really hit it off and started to plan some art workshops.

I’ve created some large scale art installations at Somerset house and inspired by one of these projects we decided to create a jungle in the foyer by suspending netting above people’s heads, shredding polythene bags and bringing the jungle to life!

the link We had two great workshops where over 40 young people came and created carrier bag fruits as well as bottle flowers that strapped around the pillars. Such a great vibe and really transformed the space! I am now like their artist in residence and regularly run workshops. This has led to me talking to the library opposite about doing similar things with them too.

Peabody run The Link and have been very enthusiastic about what’s been happening. I have just recently also been commissioned by them to create some permanent artwork in the garden with a group of young people aged 8-18. Which is really exciting! Many other projects have also taken place this summer too. I created six eight foot willow sunflowers with over 200 participants for SGI-UK. A Buddhist organisation here in the UK. It was an astonishing project!

I’m very much looking forward to continuing with my volunteering and opening up new collaborations in the months to come!

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“Being a guardian here you have a place to work, a place to socialise and place of your own.”
Alex, Whitechapel
“Being a guardian gives me the freedom to do good, invest time in work I believe in and be part of a fascinating community. It’s a no-brainer.”
Sam, Thamesmead
Local people have been very positive. They like the fact an empty building in their neighbourhood is being used again and is being maintained.
Conor, Shoreham-by-Sea
“As a property guardian with Dot Dot Dot I save £450 per month compared with what I used to pay on rent – that’s a significant difference.”
Josh, Poplar
“I saw the advert for Dot Dot Dot and was intrigued to find out more. Initially it was the low cost that attracted me but I also thought the social enterprise side of the business was really cool. I liked the fact that being a guardian with Dot Dot Dot encouraged me to give back and make me do something good with my free time.”
Heba, High Barnet
I feel strongly connected with my guardian neighbours. I am getting to know other parts of the community too, through my volunteering.
Jon, Wycombe
“I was drawn to property guardianship because I wanted to live affordably in London which is pretty hard to do – and the volunteering aspect of guardianship with Dot Dot Dot really appealed to me as a way of giving back to the community.”
Carl, High Barnet
“It’s a really cool place – I can use it to work in like an office, and there’s already a great community.”
Pete, Whitechapel
“Once I knew that everyone was up for 16 hours of volunteering a month, I felt pretty confident they’d be great, considerate housemates, and they are.”
Kit, Croydon
“Dot Dot Dot has helped me get to know people around my area and it has been a great introduction to volunteering.”
Lamonte, Sutton