Research on Other Sculpture Parks
Mount Pleasant Gardens and Sculpture Trails, Chester, UK
Mount Pleasant Gardens and sculpture trails, Chester is a local sculptural park and gardens. The site was designed and planted by the Darlington family with most of the sculptures being made by Claire Darlington, the daughter and co-designer of the garden. The garden and sculpture park have grown organically over a number of years and now include work by artists from around the United Kingdom.
I will contact David and Clair Darlington as they will have local knowledge of planning requirements. There are landscaped areas planted as gardens and ponds. There are also areas which have been left as pasture and grassland, and this has similarities to the planting planned for Alvanley Community Sculpture Meadow. I will ask for advice on ways to minimize maintenance and upkeep. Sample of sculpture at Mount Pleasant Gardens
Image: Sample of sculpture at Mount Pleasant Gardens
The Split man’ Róbert Csikszentmihályi (Tongerlo, 2022)
Odapark Holland
Odapark center for contemporary art is a foundation and council-run sculpture park in Venray, Holland. I visited the park in March 2022.
The connections and similarities between the concept of Odapark and Alvanley Community Sculpture Meadow are many. The site's grounds are not beautifully manicured, there is no team of paid, experienced gardeners and maintenance on hand, just a dedicated voluntary group of people. Therefore, the environment in which the artworks are exhibited and experienced is more natural and less pretentious. It is not institutionalized it is literally a walk in the park which offers an opportunity to experience art in a natural setting.
The artwork is acquired by commissioning work alongside temporary and permanent loans from the artists themselves for up to five to ten years. Funds for the purchasing and upkeep of the art is raised by guided tours, entertainment and fundraising events.
Due to the park being in an open, public location, they have had problems with vandalism and theft in the past. Publicity, resulting from the antisocial behavior, only served to aggravate the problem and resulted in copycat issues. When the vandalism was no longer reported in the local newspapers, the incidents stopped completely. Protecting the artwork in Alvanley Community Sculpture Meadow is something I will need to consider and plan for. Adequate insurance, including public liability insurance will be essential and CCTV cameras may act as a deterrent. However, because the meadow will be permanently open to the public, day and night, I feel vandalism and theft are a high possibility.
The sculptures at Odapark still suffer from environmental damage and deterioration due to their location within a forest. There are a team of sixty-five volunteers who maintain the park's paths, trees and sculptures. For one day in the spring, all the regular volunteers and others who join just for the day, spring clean all the artwork and complete any restoration work. If any of the pieces are damaged beyond repair or selected for removal, the artist is contacted and is given the opportunity to take the work back or have it removed.
This is relevant to Alvanley Community Sculpture Meadow and is something that would need to be agreed with the artist or donor and a contract signed, prior to installation.