Bath-based landscape architects, Grant Associates, are part of a major collaboration of local creative businesses and individuals creating a brand new four-day contemporary arts event popping up in the City of Bath this summer.
The Forest of Imagination transforms an area of Sion Hill in Bath into an imagined, fantastical landscape. Part garden, part outdoor gallery this installation creates the setting for a seriously playful programme of artworks, events and interventions. It takes place from 11 to 14 July 2014 and is free to attend.
Designed by Grant Associates, The Forest of Imagination works with an existing fabric of mature trees, glades, grassy slopes and secret pathways to create a trail of experiences orbiting a magical Forest glade.Inspired by the Bower Bird nests of Asia, this glade is a lure for the people of Bath. Colourful found objects, recycled and borrowed elements are reworked into the fabric of the landscape and help draw the visitors into an alternative experience of nature in the city.
The experience is heightened by a variety of artworks embedded within the landscape and responding to the exotic, otherworldly, scary and surprising character of this forest heart. Unusual plants merge with the existing trees and shrubs to further emphasise the difference of this place.A Forest trail connects the outdoor grounds with the indoor galleries and Studios. A temporary indoor woodland will take the experience inside the University and gallery spaces.
This collaborative partnership between some of Bath's leading creative businesses and individuals is hoping to pave the way for a new centre for contemporary creativity in Bath and put Bath on the map for contemporary art as a constellation of creativity in the UK. They include Grant Associates, Bath School of Art and Design, Bath Spa University, 5x5x5=creativity, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Illuminate Bath and Ideas of the Mind.
Andrew Grant, director, Grant Associates, said: "The idea behind this project is create a temporary home for the invisible creative spirit of Bath and to stimulate people's imagination through a variety of contemporary artforms, installations and experiences."