PARK ART in Haringey

Publication date: Monday 9 July 2012

Haringey Council has commissioned UP Projects to introduce PARK ART to Haringey, bringing high quality contemporary sculptures to a range of parks and gardens across the borough this summer.

Funded by the Arts Council, this is part of Haringey’s cultural offer for summer 2012. Including sound installations, light work and community events as well as large scale physical sculpture, PARK ART in Haringey seeks to challenge perceptions of what sculpture might be, to create an alternative multi-venue sculpture park for 21st Century London.

Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Social Inclusion, Cllr Alan Strickland, said:

"We wanted to see something contemporary and exciting in our parks and I think this range of very different arts projects is a great boost for the borough. With our Green Flag parks providing a lovely backdrop for these innovations I hope local people will take part in the linked workshops taking place in each park, and share in our pride when the completed projects are launched on the same day as the Olympic Flame comes to Haringey. I am grateful to the Arts Council for funding these works and providing our borough with a fantastic, cultural Olympic legacy."

For the grounds of Bruce Castle Museum in Tottenham, a major, new 'Scaffolding Sculpture' by Ben Long is being commissioned by UP Projects. A nine metre tall classical lion on a plinth will be built in situ out of builder’s scaffolding poles. This monumental artwork will reference not only the traditional sculptural archetype of the regal lion, but also serve to highlight the role that work and labour play in the development of any serious artistic or creative pursuit. The lion is the eighth in an ongoing series of 'Scaffolding Sculptures', which the artist started back in 2004. Over this period the series has evolved through various forms including a dog, a stag and a horse.

Alongside Long’s sculpture, UP Projects are also commissioning a light and sound installation in the Bruce Castle Museum’s Hawk Tower created by Martin Richman, which will respond to the unique characteristics of the Hawk Tower and its Tudor heritage. A hanging, reflective sculpture made from dichroic Perspex will fill the cylindrical interior of the tower, accompanied by a soundscape by Charlie Kerr that gives an industrial, contemporary twist to a Tudor melody.

South of the borough, in the heart of Finsbury Park, partner organisation Furtherfield has commissioned artist and composer Michael Szpakowski to work with local children and their families. Together they will create a generative sound sculpture that invokes the collective sounds of childhood, drawing on the memories of Haringey residents from all over the world. The resulting soundscape mixes fragments of magical and gentle summer music composed by Szpakowski with children's rhymes spoken by many generations in endless variations. The work will be audible during daylight hours in the area around Furtherfield Gallery at McKenzie Pavilion, spilling over into the children's play area from July to September 2012.

Works that are permanently exhibited in the Hornsey Library Sculpture Garden will also feature in PARK ART in Haringey, drawing attention to sculpture already situated in the borough as well as bringing in new temporary installations.

A series of events will take place for local residents living near to each venue. These will include a talk by Ben Long and a series of workshops. See the UP Projects website (external link) for more information.

Working in partnership with Haringey Council for the first time, public art organisation UP Projects are curating and producing PARK ART in Haringey which has been funded by the Arts Council England.

Image above shows an artists impression of the planned 'Scaffolding Sculpture'.

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