NEW: WORKSHOPS & TALKS
Fun Day at Beechenhurst: Saturday 1st August 2009
Come and join us to try out some of the projects created in relation to The Clearing, see below.
10am -4pm FREE
The Clearing: A Fascinating Temporary Sculpture For The Forest Of Dean Sculpture Trail
6TH JUNE FOR WORKSHOPS (exhibition open 1-28th June)
click here for detailed information
Children push Raw!
A place to experience wonderful sculpture in a woodland setting. These children from St. Mary’s C of E Infant School in Prestbury (Yellow Class) found a new way of relating to art, by trying to move Raw, a cube by Neville Gabie made from a whole oak tree! Neville was there to explain the ideas behind the sculpture which was quite a surprise for the class!
PAST PROJECTS:
Copyshine Project with Making Our Mark Group.
Read more here
Outreach 2007: Artists working with young people as part of our 21st Anniversary Celebration
Louise Short worked with young people from Heywood Community School and Newent Community School, whilst Duncan Speakman worked with children from Forest View Primary School. Read more here
Louise Short with students and their pinhole cameras (photograph by Sam Bardsley)
The Trust has initiated various outreach projects in association with the commissioning programme. Making our Mark (MOM) is one of the projects we have worked with recently. You can see more by clicking here.
Thanks to the support of Creative Partnerships in the Forest of Dean, we are now developing a sustainable programme of outreach that aims to engage both local communities and visitors in a meaningful way – not only with the sculptures but also with the place itself and the context in which they are placed.
A resource pack is now available, suitable for keystage 3 upwards. Please email if you wish to order one, or drop into Connections at Beechenhurst Lodge to buy one when you arrive, only £4.99. In it you will find further information about each of the sculptures, the history of the Trail and some thoughtful ideas for projects.
See what is inside: download the index Resource Pack index (pdf file)
“The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail was established in 1986 and has since built a strong, on-going practice of creating opportunities for artists to engage with the particularities of this special place and the people who live here. David Nash, Magdalena Jetelova, Ian Hamilton Finlay & Cornelia Parker were amongst the first group of artists to install works on the trail.
When Rupert Martin, Martin Orrom & Jeremy Rees commissioned those young artists for Stand & Stare in the 80’s, they did so as part of an innovative new movement of public sculpture in woodland spaces. The brief given to the artists was very clear - that the works should respond to the place intellectually, historically, physically and conceptually. In other words, that all of the works would be specific to the Forest of Dean. The works were also deliberately discrete in the woodland, until their popularity demanded footpaths and signposting. The Sculpture Trail is now a key visitor attraction in the region. The artworks you see on the route were not simply delivered and installed here, but developed and inspired by the place – from its history and its material qualities.
The Forest is not a gallery. It is a location, a place, an industry , an environment, a dwelling place for creatures and a site for leisure activity. The sculptures and the environment are of equal value and do not jostle for attention. The Forest of Dean has a fascinating history and the immediate impression of rural idyll and romantic landscape does not reflect the historical tensions between industrial and sylvan, man-made and natural, utopian and dystopian, settlements and forest, all of which have shaped this unique environment. As such it presents a rich source of inspiration – not only for artists – but for everyone.
We invite visitors to enjoy the works on a wide range of levels. You will not find labels and information on the route, but instead are encouraged to investigate the sculptures in your own way- it is YOUR journey of discovery. The information in this pack will provide background for you to build from, suggest approaches to take and stories to tell.
You, of course, will bring with you your own stories, narratives and experiences which will influence the way you encounter these artworks in the forest. We hope you enjoy them now and come back again soon - either in another season (as these sculptures enjoy ever-changing visual contexts) or when we host temporary works and add new permanent works.”
If you would like to know more about our outreach programme, please email
