Thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Forestry England has joined forces with Gloucestershire charity Art Shape on a project to help improve diversity in the arts, which is becoming more and more limited due to access barriers to mainstream arts training, especially for those with financial or mental health challenges. The Arts Bridge Emergent project offers opportunities for professional development to up-and-coming artists who face disabling barriers. Development includes mentoring, networking, skill development and exhibition opportunities.
As part of this project Westonbirt will be playing host to an Artist-in-Residence, Deb Hoy, who will lead a series of workshops for participating artists amongst the magnificent trees of the national arboretum. Using trees and the natural landscape as their inspiration, the artists will create individual works, as well as collaborate an art installation, which will focus on ‘trees as the lungs of the earth.’
These will be on show to the public at a special exhibition to be held at the arboretum on 3rd – 6th November 2020.
Susanna Bayliss, Interpretation Officer at Westonbirt Arboretum said, “As the National Arboretum, a large part of Westonbirt’s role is to connect people with trees, and we are always looking for new and exciting ways to be able to do this. Trees and nature have inspired artists for hundreds of years, and art is a wonderful way to engage people with Westonbirt’s stunning landscape.
“We are delighted to be working with Arts Shape on this project to make careers in the arts more accessible and are very excited to be able to share the work of these exceptional artists at the exhibition later this year.”
Harriet West, Project Manager at Art Shape said, “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Westonbirt, it is a wonderfully inspiring and healing place to make art. We hope as artists that we can respond to the themes of Westonbirt’s conservation issues and aspirations and add diverse and creative ways of connecting people to trees through the artwork produced.”
