The intention was to induce an encounter between two sets of people who normally have very little contact. The first group included artists, curators, editors, producers, programmers, funders, academics, and a United Church minister in training. The other group was the kids who frequent the pool: from the lower half of Wards 19 and 20 (Kensington Market, the Alexandra Park Housing Co-op and surrounding area), they comprise a variety of ethnicities with lower than average household incomes. Getting these groups together was motivated by a desire to create a brief alliance between the two populations; the intervention was not about reversing an existing power dynamic — though it did do that — but rather about introducing a new and different dynamic, if only for the duration of the day.

Another interest with Beachballs41+all was to introduce the sensation of abundance; thus the decision to offer the toys en masse to the kids, and not hand them out in an orderly fashion. With 400 toys available, everyone in attendance could take home as many as they wanted. For most of us, moments of abundant resources and time are rare; we are accustomed to "lack" as a coercive idea and an oppressive reality. In its excessiveness, the event bore the weight of metaphor, artistic intention and intervention - an intervention where the artist is barely noticed, and instead of being a creator is a conduit for already existing energies and resources. It doesn’t matter if the point is misunderstood by the participants, onlookers, or audience - the roles here being completely muddled - since the experience is being lived.