Art in the Park

Started: 1 August 2019
Completed: 28 March 2020

About

Art in the Park – Kearsney Interpreted allowed artists to respond to the landscape designs, ecology, social and industrial history of the parks. The project has helped to create a new cultural space for Dover and attract new audiences to the parks.

The project gave residencies to ten artists who all had a connection to Dover. They ranged from artists just starting out on their careers to international, established artists.

Cabinet by Drew Burrett

Artist videos

Please note that some of the following videos contain flickering or rapidly moving images.

River Song: swans | music | water | light was an evening’s ‘music & light symbiotic’ event set in Kearsney Abbey and the River Garage Studio and featured performances, classical music and an exhibition of photo-works.
Drew Burrett worked with Whitfield Aspen School and Whitfield Guides to take photographs. These will form part of an archive that will be displayed in the new café when it opens. He also created a Kearsney Film.
Jamie Jenkinson led video walk shops, showing what incredible images can be videoed on a smartphone. Four animations were produced as a result; Chalk Stream, Bridge, Umbrella and a group video. Please note that there are a large number of flashing and flickering images in these videos.
Phil Saunders worked with pupils from Guston school to create an animation called Nature’s Guardian. The children collected leaves, twigs and other items from around the park as well as creating images that were used in his animation.
Clare Smith has created a video, Watercress and Daffodils. This explores the parallels between Russell Gardens as it undergoes its restoration work and a personal story connected to Kearsney Court.
Gabor Stark used his residency to create Meanderings. He placed the sculpture MEANDER (Spiegel im Spiegel im Spiegel) in one of the open sections of culvert that meanders through the park. The Leon String Quartet performed around the installation. Gabor has written a blog about his involvement in the project.
Alma Tischlerwood has created Alice, the wooden sculpture and performance space on the south side of the lake in Kearsney Abbey. It’s been made out of some of the trees that were cleared from Russell Gardens. It was built by Rob Hedley-Dray with the help of volunteers. It’s the perfect place to sit and enjoy the views. The launch of Alice was filmed by Benjamin Hunt.
Louise Webb spent time in the park during August 2018 to find out people’s memories of the park and created a video, Stretches of earth shared, exchanged and collected, as a result.
As part of Art in the Park – Kearsney Interpreted, 58 artists, musicians and poets from the local area took part in the Park Bench project. Each person created an artwork while sitting on a bench in Kearsney Abbey or Russell Gardens. The works were brought together into a video with an original soundtrack Park Bench, a DAD production, along with poetry and written word contributions.