So this is the first step of what will hopefully be an amazing project to work on. I say hopefully as the Butterfly Park is presently under threat of closure.
The Landowners (Brock plc) want the land back, they won’t say why but they want it back – even though they knew it was a nature reserve when they bought the land 10 years ago and have previously been big supporters of the local environmental network. It happened quite suddenly and there was a lot of publicity about the planned closure which has led to a great deal of local support and to the Local Council stepping in with a Compulsory Purchase Order.
In the interim waiting period of haggling and appeals, my residency has been set up. In a bid to try and make the park more visible,(and secure the site as a permanent nature reserve) I will be curating a temporary sculpture trail and series ofart and nature based workshops over the summer months.
Following the summer, I hope to be continuing my research, forming a visual archive of the Park and working on proposals for an on site Visitor Centre. This may be whilst based in a local empty shop where we can set up a temporary visitor centre and also use it as an artist base engaging with the local community over the months that the Park is closed to produce a body of work that can be used in any future funding applications and will lead towards an annual art trail and a final dissertation and installation in 2011.
I’m hopeful…..
If however, the Compulsory Purchase Order falls through and the unthinkable happens that the Butterfly Park is closed I have to have a back up plan.
This plan (though I hope will never be needed) is to continue the archiving process and work with NFRAG (New Ferry Regeneration Action Group) holding the workshops in other local areas of interest. The final dissertation and installation will be a historical reference and memorial of the Butterfly Park.
But I’m hopeful…..
That will never have to be the case.
The Butterfly Park is an amazing sanctuary in the middle of a vastly populated and sadly run down urban area, it could be such a fantastic tourist site bringing in lots of new visitors with their money to spend in local shops, pubs and restaurants. Being a part of this fight has become so important to me, to save this small piece of beautiful and peaceful land will undoubtedly take over my life for the coming months and years.
And this blog will be a (hopefully engaging and interesting) record of my residency here.
