- Venue
- Hanley Park
- Location
- West Midlands
For those who are not familiar with the Stoke-on-Trent area, Hanley park is situated in Shelton and is a stark contrast to its outer surroundings. Close to the university and residential areas, Hanley park offers a range of open spaces and landscaped views for the public to enjoy and experience nature first hand. In recent years the park has seen a decline in visitors and there have been reports of crime and the public commenting on the park’s need for a revival and to be made more secure. The council has responded to this by carrying out some restoration work of certain features within the park and having wardens on patrol. However the park still lacks a community atmosphere and the attraction of a safe social space. Taking this all into consideration a group are artists felt that this needed to be addressed and ‘Common Ground’ was created.
Common Ground is a two day art event allowing a collection of artists to install a piece of work to feature in the park for the public to view and explore. The aim would be for the public to be enticed to explore their park in more detail and maybe gain a new appreciation for the open space that was on offer to them as well as demonstrating it fit for purpose in today’s society.
Lucky for the artists the weather was good and therefore attracted the visitors that they had been hoping for. I decided to browse around the park, looking at the pieces on display as well as asking the public what they thought of the event.
Call me old fashioned but I was delighted to see Anna Francis’s piece entitled “Repopulating the Bandstand”. The bandstand in the park has remained unused for a number of years and rarely sees a musical spectacle such as a full brass band playing scores from musicals as well as popular war songs. As the brass band begun the eruption of sound travelled across the park and captured the attention of those who could not avoid the dynamic volume of the instruments. This was completed with rows of chairs for the public to sit and enjoy the music that surrounded them as well as being provided with free ice-cream and ice lollies. It was a delightful sight to behold, not only the band, but the appreciation that audience seemed to express.
Towards the middle of the park you cannot help to notice as well as hear Andrew Branscombe’s appropriately titled “Park Life”. A hexagonal metal structure, it sits where a previous hexagonal plinth once existed before it was destroyed by vandals. In-between each metal side sits a metal tube that can be hit with wooden beaters to create a sound. Each tube creates a different note and if hit correctly I was told you can play ‘Park Life’ by Blur. A quirky piece that was certainly loved by the public, it highlighted the importance of the original features within the park and how they can become forgotten once gone.
Throughout the day, I began to realise just how much the public had been longing for an event like this. After speaking to a number of the visitors, one theme was clear. They all wanted more events like these that drew the community together and further regeneration of the park. With all the doom and gloom that exists in our day to day lives, it is refreshing to visit an open space that was described as an oasis by one visitor; to forget about the day’s worries and tasks, and to take in the open air with family and friends and more importantly the rest of the community. With the constant reminder that we are living in a broken society, would it not be wise to invest in further events such as this where the public is drawn together and can experience a positive event together? It may sound utopian and I did question the accuracy of my thoughts; but as I stood looking across at the crowd that had gathered to watch the brass band and observed the happiness of elderly couples reminiscing as well as young children being amazed by how these instruments worked, I couldn’t find anything wrong in that. Some visitors commented that they had visited areas of the park that they didn’t know existed to view some of the art installations and thanks to the map that was provided by the organisers, they were encouraged to explore further. I was glad to see discussions between the artists and the public as this demonstrated that there was genuine interest there.
I was concerned how an art event would be accepted by the public as people interested in art go to specific art events and galleries. This was presented in an environment to people that had probably never experienced art in this way. It was brave, but it paid off. It showed that art is for everyone and can be interpreted and appreciated by everyone. As the day drew to an end, I left the event feeling uplifted and happy to have met some of the people I had come across during the day. This was a project that was aimed at the community and wanted to draw the community together as well as highlight an asset of the area. Even though a small proportion of the public had been brought together, they were still drawn together and experienced something as a whole which would have not happened on such a scale otherwise. For this reason, I agree with the public, give us more please!
