Forest of Imagination teams up with Holburne Museum
10 May 2019
Award-winning arts and design pop-up Forest of Imagination returns to Bath on 20-24 June 2019, teaming up with the Holburne Museum to stage a festival of fantastical installations, creative workshops and sculptures designed to spark everyone’s imagination.
Taking place for its sixth consecutive year, the free, five-day participatory event will invite people of all ages and from all backgrounds to experience a ‘Life Line’ of multi-sensory art installations that stretches from Laura Place, along Great Pulteney Street, to the Holburne Museum and into Sydney Pleasure Gardens.
The ‘Life Line’ aims to celebrate nature as a lifelong source of creative inspiration for all, as well as encouraging people to experience these iconic places in an entirely new way, with reference to themes surrounding wellbeing, the environment and our future.
· A giant lantern structure designed by Piers Taylor (Invisible Studio) and Charley Brentnall
· A 3D soundscape created by Illustrious, led by Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware
· A nature-inspired virtual reality (VR) experience created by Anthony Head
· Story telling workshops with children’s art charity The House of Fairy Tales
· ‘Street Life to Wild Life’, a series of temporary plantings by Grant Associates which highlight the value of nature in urban spaces
· ‘Clay Forest 2’, a clay workshop with artist Clare Day designed to build a mini forest of clay trees
· Inclusive workshops on the theme ‘My Imagination’ by Threeways School
· Installations by local artists and designers including Alison Harper, Jessica Palmer and Matthew Leece, as well as students from Bath Spa University
Forest of Imagination 2019 will also include a programme of creative talks and performances at the Holburne Museum from a range of contemporary artists:
· Thursday 20 June, 6-8pm – African dance company Ballet Nimba joins performance poet Toby Thompson to formally launch this year’s Forest of Imagination.
· Friday 21 June, 7-8pm – London-based Afro-dub ensemble and WOMAD-festival regulars Fofoulah perform an energetic gig of Sengalese voice and West African rhythms in the Holburne’s garden pavilion, with dub basslines and intense grooves.
· Saturday 22 June, 7-8pm – Children’s author and illustrator Lauren Child MBE, creator of the hugely popular Charlie & Lola books, joins the Holburne’s director Chris Stephens to discuss art and creativity amongst children and adults.
· Sunday 23 June, 7-8pm – Contemporary ‘slogan’ artist Bob and Roberta Smithshares a reading from his new book UR an artist and discusses the role of art in society through an open discussion with the audience, including young people, chaired by Professor Anita Taylor, Executive Dean of Bath School of Art and Design.
· Monday 24 June, 5-6pm – Turner-prize winning sculptor and land artist Sir Richard Long brings Forest 2019 to a close with an illustrated talk for all ages with Q&A.
“Forest grows every year, and we’re delighted to partner with the Holburne Museum this year, with its wonderful grounds. Taking inspiration from the Holburne’s diverse exhibition programme, we will be staging a truly eclectic mix of inspiring and thought-provoking artworks and events. This is a chance for people to enjoy familiar places in Bath in a very different way, with nature brought centre stage and celebrated as a lifelong source of creative inspiration.”
“One of our aims with Forest this year is to offer as fully inclusive an event as possible. As well as partnering with top local and international artists, we’re working with over 20 schools to show how nature can inspire our curiosity and imagination. There’ll be a mix of creative workshops and installations for all ages – highlighting the value of green urban spaces and experiences in promoting wellbeing and community engagement.”
“We are delighted to partner with Forest of Imagination in their 6th year with a creative and inclusive programme for everyone – schools, families and young people. I’m excited to see the connection between the city and the Museum and garden brought to life by an astonishing array of artists, architects, musicians, performers and creative thinkers.”