Sustainable public art for Sunken Garden

The environment

The theme of this year's Margate Festival was "Sunken Ecologies". The festival wanted to address ecological and environmental issues through creativity. This was accomplished through inviting artists to present outcomes relating to environmentalism, expressed through physical artworks, installations, films, workshops, talks, and happenings. We concentrated on The Sunken Garden Society as a site of activation. We worked closely with The Sunken Garden Society to shape the festival. They advised us on what areas of support they needed to improve the garden in relation to accessibility, functionality, and in terms of beneficial environmental improvements. The artworks chosen for the fundraiser were all developed out of this collaborative partnership, and the final artworks were: - Usable art compost bin - to help compost and recycle garden material from the garden. The compost bin also helps with biodiversity, and encourages much needed insects. - Art bench - the bench was produced to be fun and enjoyable for visitors. The idea being that the bench would also encourage families and friends to sit together and spend time in the garden. - Art Gate for the Hermit’s Cave - the lockable cave was produced to provide a space for the Sunken Garden Society to keep tools necessary for their work to maintain the garden. Through our partnership with The Sunken Garden Society, we have helped to promote the activities of their organisation and furthered their aims. They aim to provide a community resource that encourages people to enjoy the outdoors and spend time in it, as well as promote the environmental needs of the garden for wildlife and plants.

The local economy

The production of the artworks supported the livelihood of local crafts people and contractors ranging from producers to transporters to builders. An illustrator, Molly Pickle, was appointed to produce a new logo and signage for the Society Various people were employed to develop the festival including a festival producer, 2 x photographers, 2 x illustrators, a website designer, and marketing officer . The festival and use of the Sunken Garden helped to promote that particular area of Thanet bringing visitors to Canterbury Road, and along the Westbrook seafront, thus bringing custom to the area. People travelled from outside of the area specifically for the festival helping to boost the local economy and spread the word about Thanet as a destination area.

Volunteering, jobs & education

The Sunken Garden relies on volunteers and by partnering with Margate NOW and producing these permanent practical artworks to the site the number of visitors have increased, helping the Society to promote their aims. More visitors has increased interest in the garden, and led to more people joining the Society providing people with volunteering opportunities. The Installation and production of the gate and bench used a variety of contractors at different stages of its production in order to bring those artworks to fruition. As part of the festival Margate Now and Sunken Garden Society hosted an "Associations Day". We invited and supported seven eco-organisations to set up in the garden to promote their activities, increase environmental awareness, engagement and education, and encourage people to join their associations.

Arts, culture & heritage

The festival was the 8th incarnation of local arts being showcased in Thanet. The quality of this year's festival was especially impressive, as it was shaped by Anna Colin as lead curator. She brought a focus and idealism to the festival which articulated the importance of sustainability within arts culture. By concentrating on The Sunken Garden we helped to bring art activities to a different area of Thanet and increased interest in Westbrook as a site of community action. These are the first permanent artworks that Margate Now has produced and it helps to put the spotlight on Thanet as a world class destination for art. Alongside the permanent artworks we worked with nine artists to produce work for the festival, and eight arts organisations. These collaborations with local groups help to create impetus and direction for organisations as new ideas and visions are shared and discussed. The Sunken Garden is a heritage site in Westbrook that became very dilapidated and rundown. The creation of the Sunken Garden Society has helped to breathe new life into the garden, and supported its return to past glory for future generations.

Activity, health and leisure

The artworks support the work of the Sunken Garden Society by offering practical items that will be used regularly by visitors to and volunteers at the garden. They have helped draw in additional members of the public who are both interested in art and gardening, thus creating an interesting cross-fertilisation of ideas and possibilities. The artworks themselves are playful in form and shape and encourage people to be playful within the garden setting. Children and families will take great joy in interacting with the bench, and delight in seeing the compost bin.