We’re proud to have delivered a programme of high quality participatory arts activities, inspired by nature, green spaces and horticulture during 2023-24. As the project was an arts engagement project with Creative Darlington, the activities and exhibits were situated in various community spaces and venues across Darlington.
The project involved creating a series of pop-up spaces and installations where people could get creative and be inspired by paper art works. In doing this we hoped to spark a series of creative conversations about nature inspired art and design and the green cultural heritage of Darlington. The decision to exhibit work in public engagement spaces and on the high street opened up unique dialogues with audiences to engage with the arts in non-traditional spaces using unusual art techniques, such as origami, paper pop-ups, monkiri and tunnel books, to show the transformative power of paper.
Two of the
pop-up installations celebrated the architecture of the Crystal Palace. It is
believed that William Richardson and John Ross of W Richardson & Co.
Darlington, internationally renowned suppliers of glasshouses in the Victorian
era, visited the Crystal Palace and that this inspired their own unique glass
structure designs.The Victorian
era in England was the golden age for the greenhouse. These glass structures allowed the wealthy
upper classes and aspiring botanists to compete for status through the
construction of elaborate and innovative buildings housing rare and exotic
plants.
In 1837 the giant lily ‘Victoria amazonica’ was discovered in British
Guiana (the Caribbean) leading to competition amongst gardeners to grow the
plant on British soil. Joseph Paxton, head gardener for the 6th Duke of
Devonshire at Chatsworth, became the first gardener to successfully grow the
three metre diameter lily pads. After
studying the leaf of the lily lad, Paxton determined that the leaf could
support an immense weight on account of its structure. To demonstrate the strength of the leaf,
Paxton placed his nine year old daughter on a lily pad in a pond in front of a
live audience at Chatsworth. The lily pad was able to hold her full weight
without buckling. Paxton copied the leaf’s structure and used his detailed
knowledge of Burton’s ‘Great Stove’ conservatory at Chatsworth to inform his
competition winning design for a spectacular glass building, the Crystal
Palace, for The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, London. Our pop-up
miniature paper installations, inspired by the Crystal Palace and glasshouses,
were created using collage and folding techniques derived from tunnel books to
create a floral scene telling the story behind these nature inspired engineering masterpieces.
The paper installations recalled Paxton’s discovery that lily pad structures could support the weight of a child, famously informing the engineering and biophilic design of the Crystal Palace. Additional archive material documenting the glasshouses of W Richardson & Co. was displayed alongside the paper installation at the Darlington Centre for Local Studies, Darlington Library A miniature pop-up models of the Crystal Palace were also available to take-away and assemble at the Darlington Centre for Local Studies and The Hive (maker space), Darlington Library. The Crystal Palace model is also avaialable on our website, alongside video and photo instructions on how to cut, fold and create this paper model, so the legacy of the project will keep on growing creativity. To find out more visit this page on our website.
Alongside this exhibition a pop-up installation and drop-in arts activities aimed at children and families were held at The Friends Meeting Hub space, Darlington. A large window space showcased a growing large-scale slotted card construction model based on the Crystal Palace that also took inspiration from the Eames House of Cards modular construction play system. A smaller window display space showcased nature inspired paper origami artworks, pressed flowers alongside other objects connecting art and nature.
Special thanks to the people and organisations who helped us on our creative journey:
Arts Council England for funding this project through their National Lottery Project Grants programme;
Stephen Wiper at Creative Darlington for funding and facilitating this commission;
Darlington Centre for Local Studies and The Hive at Darlington Library, The Friends Meeting Hub and
the Education Space in South Park for
hosting our engagement activities and pop-up installations.
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