Bath-based arts pop-up Forest of Imagination is taking place this weekend, 28th – 30th September, connecting people to nature with a series of forests, art trails and innovative sculptures.
Returning to the city for its fifth consecutive year, 2018’s event will see spaces in Kingsmead Square, down Avon Street to the River Avon at Bath Quays North, all transformed into a series of ‘Future Forests’ designed to spark people’s imaginations.
Each Forest will offer a sensory kaleidoscope of playful installations, art trails and workshops, exploring different aspects of forest life – from the forest floor to the forest canopy.
The event is also being launched in partnership with Bath Children’s Literature Festival, one of the city’s most popular annual events.
Amongst a host of creative installations by artists, schools and local businesses, highlights for the Forest of Imagination event will include:
- A ‘Courtyard of Creativity’, designed by architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios featuring architectural street furniture, providing a venue for eating, learning and creating.
- Interactive street theatre from children’s art charity The House of Fairy Tales;
- A 3D forest soundscape created by Illustrious, led by Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware;
- Forest pyramids built by Carpenter Oak & Woodland with architect Piers Taylor;
- An inflatable forest by landscape architects Grant Associates;
- A floating forest on the River Avon by Grant Associates;
- Installations and workshops by local artists and designers including Alison Harper, Jessica Palmer and Matthew Leece;
- An immersive installation in collaboration with Shai Akram and the egg theatre Incubator project;
- Illustrations of the river ecology with Conor Busuttil and local schools;
- A collaboration with Three Ways Special School involving artists Luke Woodbury, Matt Cleary and Juliann Worrall Hood
- Artworks on the River Avon by River is the Venue (RIV) – a collaboration between art gallery 44AD artspace, arts charity Art at the Heart of the Royal United Hospital (RUH) and the University of Bath, celebrating the history of Bath’s river
Forest of Imagination 2018 has been made possible thanks to generous funding from Arts Council England, Grant Associates and Herman Miller Cares, together with the support of a host of other local businesses and organisations including Bath Spa University, Bristol Zoo, Wessex Water and Bath BID.
Forest of Imagination was co-founded by Bath based landscape architect Andrew Grant of Grant Associates, whose work on the iconic Gardens by the Bay featured in Planet Earth 2 – the BBC’s most watched natural history programme to date.
Grant Associates is part of a collective of local companies and creatives who co-design the event including arts charity 5x5x5=creativity, Bath Spa University and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
Andrew Grant, Director, Grant Associates said: “This year the project returns to the city centre and aims to celebrate the connection between the city and the River Avon through the transformation of Kingsmead Square, Avon Street and linked spaces.
“These will be animated with installations and creative possibilities, providing a thought-provoking series of experiences for all ages.”
Penny Hay, Co-founder, added: “Forest of Imagination 2018 will invite everyone to experience the power of nature in the city to inspire their imagination and creativity.
“Taking place alongside the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, we’ll also be celebrating the wonder of childhood and the importance of play for our wellbeing.
“We’ve the privilege once again of working with a host of wonderful artists including Martyn Ware, Shai Akram, Alison Harper, Jess Palmer and Matthew Leece, as well as local creative industries and staff and students from both the city’s universities and Bath College.”
