New partnership brings great art and culture to England’s forests and woodlands

13 Jul 2016 11:51 AM

Recently (11 July 2016) our Chief Executive Darren Henley signed a new Memorandum of Understanding between Arts Council England and the Forestry Commission that will bring engaging artworks to England’s public forests.

Based on a shared belief that arts and culture have an inspirational and transformational effect, the four year agreement was signed at the Forest of Dean Sculpture Park in Gloucestershire. 

The new partnership builds on the success of an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations in 2012, which resulted in the successful Forest Art Works programme. 

“We have had great successes from our previous partnership proving that Forest Art Works! 

Simon Hodgson, Chief Executive Officer, Forestry Commission England recently said:

Woods and forests are an important part of England’s cultural history and it is important that they are a part of our contemporary arts. 

Based on learning from the previous partnership, a key focus of this agreement is to target places with little cultural infrastructure and with few people engaged in arts and culture, and to use insight from audience feedback to get more people involved.

Successes of the Forest Art Works programme so far include:

• Jerwood Open Forest: a national open call for bold, ambitious proposals that explore the potential of forests as sites for art in and about the environment;
• The Company of Wolves: a forest tour of a promenade theatre based on the stories by Angela Carter, created by innovative Devon based outdoor theatre company; 
• Living Symphonies: A touring programme that brings new music and sound art to outdoor spaces, portraying the second by-second activity of the forest’s wildlife, plants and atmospheric conditions;
• The Abandon Normal Devices Festival in Grizedale Forest: a festival of drones, funghi, virtual reality, outdoor cinemas, kite flying and singing trees where audiences can experience the forest anew;
• In the Eyes of the Animal: an exhibition told from the viewpoint of the animal inhabitants of the forest. 

Simon Hodgson explains: “Artists gain insight and inspiration from their interactions with woods and forests and audiences gain new experiences through engagement with art in forest environments.

“Whilst working in partnership with Arts Council England we will continue to seek high-quality, ambitious work that breaks new ground for both artists and audiences.”

Arts Council has also invested Grants for the Arts and Strategic funds into projects working in forests across England, including two major new works by artists Henry Castle and Pomona Zipser soon due to open at the Forest of Dean Sculpture Park. 

Arts interventions in the natural world create a fresh dialogue between artists, the environment and our communities.

"They can be exciting and surprising, and help people see the world in new ways,” said Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Arts Council England.

"The development of a long term relationship with Forestry Commission England gives us exciting new opportunities to help people experience this, wherever they live in the country.

“Our partnerships with non-arts based organisations are vital to help us achieve our goals; we also have strong links with the National Trust and the Canal and River Trust. These kinds of collaborations stretch the boundaries of the work that is produced, reflecting the diverse and rich landscape and society we live in.”

Download the memorandum of understanding