Balancing Acts is Bradford resident Sam Shendi’s bold creative response to MAPA’s early years as a wooden adventure playground. Formally known as the Margaret McMillan Adventure Playground Association, founded in West Bowling in 1971, this pioneering organisation was originally created to provide activities for the children and young people of the mainly African Caribbean families who lived in the area’s Newby Square housing development.

Over the years, it grew into it a thriving arts centre and community hub. Rooted in the neighbourhood’s history, MAPA has long served as a beacon of creativity, unity and cultural pride.

The sculpture stands as a quiet meditation on unity, identity, and the enduring human desire to belong. Created in the form of an obelisk, an ancient symbol of memory and aspiration, it honours not just a community that took root in the 1970s, but also the unseen threads that bind generations across time.

Balancing Acts is not merely a monument to the past, but a vessel of presence and possibility. In a world marked by difference – of belief, of origin, of perspective – this community has found harmony through music, that most ephemeral yet powerful of human expressions. For over fifty years, it has served as a language beyond words, dissolving boundaries and nurturing connection.

I shaped this sculpture as a totem of equilibrium – a reminder that even in fragmentation, we can choose resonance over difference. It is a symbol not just of what this community has been, but of what it dares to become: a living testament to the idea that shared rhythm can forge shared destiny.

The sculpture is inspired by children’s balance toys, which teach early lessons in dexterity and stability. These simple objects embody the first steps in understanding equilibrium—finding harmony between surfaces and the steadiness of weight.

A deeper question can be considered : how can we, as humans, create balance in our own lives and communities? The sculpture’s varied colours represent our individuality, yet they are all interconnected – symbolising how, despite our differences, we are part of a greater whole. The subtle movement within the piece reflects the continuous changes we all experience over time, reminding us that balance is not static, but something we learn, adapt to, and strive for throughout life.

Sam Shendi is an Egyptian-born British Sculptor whose work delves into the core of human existence through vibrant, coloured sculptural abstractions of the human figure. Acting as a bridge between the past and the future, his sculptures seamlessly transcend genres and fit into any artistic context. For Shendi, colour serves as the soul of his sculptures. Through his mastery of minimalistic forms and his exploration of the human psyche, he invites viewers into a world where simplicity unravels profound truths.