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Allotment Gallery
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What an amazing day we had at the final Allotment Gallery on Saturday 7 September. The weather was kind to us and we were delighted that so many people came to view the artists' work. We were showcasing Natalie Willat's exhibition Common Land with portrait photos of allotment holders hung in curious places around the allotment site. Francesca Buxton's Plot weaving hoops were displayed again along with Sally Fitchard's Strong Roots models in clay and cardboard. Sally ran a clay workshop and our musicians entertained us. The allotment committee also held their annual produce show in the community hut. All in all it was a fantastic day with a lovely community atmosphere. We are really happy about the way the project has worked out and with the quality of artworks and workshops delivered by our four artists.
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Photos of 'Common Plot' by Natalie Willatt
Annual Produce Show
Our big Allotment Gallery celebration day is on Saturday 7th September. We are joining with Richmond Street Allotments who are holding their Annual Produce Show on the same day! |
During 2024 we are working on this exciting project supported by Arts Council England and based at our allotment Plot 33. Four artists have been invited to work with us to create artworks to put-up around the allotment site, turning it into a pop-up art gallery, four times during the spring and summer. The artists will be working with our own artists Anne and Rachel, local groups, schools, and the allotment holders, to create their outdoor artworks during the summer months. The site will be open to the public to come and view the pop-up galleries, and enjoy a cup of tea and cake too!
Did you know we now have a compost loo, solar powered electric sockets and an accessible ramp at the allotment meaning it is more accessible for lots more people! Do keep your eye on our social media for additional dates to visit! See below for details of the compost loo and accessibility on site! |
The artists' installations:
June“Plot Weaving” will see Fran create large sculptural circular weavings, experimenting with unconventional “threads” created from waste allotment materials, intertwined with collected narratives about allotment life. She will work with a women's group to weave threads and stories for display at the allotment site.
Check out our News post for photos and news from the day. |
July "For this exhibition we will build our own worlds, in an array of materials such as clay, timber, string, sticks, bamboo, repurposed textiles." Buildings will be made by the artist, and with the adults and children within the workshops. Each building will be unique and determined by its maker, with the option for them to have a practical function too, such as insect houses, bird houses, bird baths, seed collection boxes etc.
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Lutum is inspired by the tradition of harvest rituals and spiritual practices centred around agriculture and the act of growing food, namely the use of corn dolls. Blythe's work will be a large 2D sculpture, as such a large-scale corn doll. This sculpture will take on a human-like form and symbolise the material connection between ritual behaviour and the physical labour involved in producing food.
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September:
"I would like to explore not only the effects of having space to grow your own healthy, lower cost food, but also the psychological impact of having a piece of the earth that is yours, a landscape that you can change, a world that you can build". Through photography, Natalie will document the cycles of planting, nurturing and harvesting relating to growing, but also in relation to the spaces created.
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Introducing the artists and their work
We offered four commissions for artists to create artworks for Allotment Gallery in spring 2024. Here are the artists who were selected and a bit about their proposed artworks and installations and the inspiration behind them.
Francesca Buxton
As both a mixed media artist and a magpie of self proclaimed “treasures”, finding beauty in surfaces and objects that are blemished or show signs of their previous use, resonates within Fran’s whole practice. She seeks to challenge the viewer's perception of the familiar or the previously overlooked, as well as the value attributed to the used or second hand, often through the use of meticulous needlelace and weaving as adornment. This brings with it a nostalgia and an aspect of storytelling that emanates from both the work and those who engage with the pieces. “Plot Weaving” will see Fran create large sculptural circular weavings, experimenting with unconventional “threads” created from waste allotment materials, intertwined with collected narratives about allotment life. 
'Lutum' by Blythe Taylor
Blythe Taylor is an artist and allotment gardener. She has worked with moving image, ceramics, and printmaking. Her work concerns issues around women’s oppression and political resistance. Blythe will be creating a large scale corn doll sculpture and clay charms which explore the use of agricultural and harvest customs and their modern-day relevancy. She will be researching harvest traditions from countries in the Middle East and North Africa alongside those in Britain to develop her design. "My proposal provisionally entitled Lutum, is inspired by the tradition of harvest rituals and spiritual practices centred around agriculture and the act of growing food, namely the use of corn dolls. My work will be a large 2D sculpture, as such a large-scale corn doll. This sculpture will take on a human-like form and symbolise the material connection between ritual behaviour and the physical labour involved in producing food" |
Sally Fitchard
Sally is a contemporary ceramic sculptor and creative practitioner. Alongside her studio work she uses her skills to engage and support adults and young people in creative based activities. Within this exhibition we will build our own worlds, in an array of materials such as clay, timber, string, sticks, bamboo, repurposed textiles. Buildings will be made by the artist, and with the adults and children within the workshops. Each building will be unique and determined by its maker, with the option for them to have a practical function too, such as insect houses, bird houses, bird baths, seed collection boxes etc. During design and construction, we can explore the key role these types of buildings have in an urban allotment... understanding the importance of soil, plants, pollination, growing, harvesting, food health, habitats, our environment, our health. 
'Common Land' by Natalie Willatt
The history of allotments is intrinsically linked to class, and their usage today still echoes those links. I’m interested in exploring both the historical and current issues surrounding access to land for the working classes. I believe that to have a piece of land to call your own, if only for a while, has wide reaching benefits for both physical and mental health. Through this commission, I would like to explore not only the effects of having space to grow your own healthy, lower cost food, but also the psychological impact of having a piece of the earth that is yours, a landscape that you can change, a world that you can build. [Through photography] I will document the cycles of planting, nurturing and harvesting relating to growing, but also in relation to the spaces created. I will focus on the opportunities that allotments provide to nurture the soul through expression of identity. The nurturing of the lived environment by harvesting reused and repurposed materials to build structures on the allotments. |
The Official Blurb
An urban allotment site becomes an art gallery displaying nature-inspired, eco-aware artworks created by invited artists. Local groups and individuals attend participatory workshops hosted by Festival Stoke’s artists; they co-create complementary installations for a rolling dynamic exhibition.
Over five months in 2024 four artists will be invited to create site-specific artworks for an urban allotment. Responding to allotment culture & environment, they will create artworks for display on internal and external fences, in sheds and in greenhouses. The natural cycles of planting, nurturing and harvesting, along with eco-concerns, will inform the finished artworks During four weeks prior to each installation, accompanying participatory workshops reflecting each artist’s theme, will be hosted by Festival Stoke artists, for child and adult groups. At the end of each month members of the public will be invited to an allotment exhibition day, culminating in a celebration day in September with all four art installations in situ and participatory creative activities offered.
An urban allotment site becomes an art gallery displaying nature-inspired, eco-aware artworks created by invited artists. Local groups and individuals attend participatory workshops hosted by Festival Stoke’s artists; they co-create complementary installations for a rolling dynamic exhibition.
Over five months in 2024 four artists will be invited to create site-specific artworks for an urban allotment. Responding to allotment culture & environment, they will create artworks for display on internal and external fences, in sheds and in greenhouses. The natural cycles of planting, nurturing and harvesting, along with eco-concerns, will inform the finished artworks During four weeks prior to each installation, accompanying participatory workshops reflecting each artist’s theme, will be hosted by Festival Stoke artists, for child and adult groups. At the end of each month members of the public will be invited to an allotment exhibition day, culminating in a celebration day in September with all four art installations in situ and participatory creative activities offered.
The Arts Council funded project ‘Allotment Gallery’ brings together our enthusiasm for gardening and nature together with our skills in getting local children and adults involved in creating art for the community spaces of Stoke. As with our previous projects there’ll be opportunities to get creative alongside our artists at free workshops.
The Allotment Gallery activities will begin in May this year and run through until the end of September so keep your eye on our social media (Facebook and Instagram) for updates on how you can get involved.
We’ll be inviting four artists to create artworks for display as a rolling and dynamic exhibition within and around the allotment site. They’ll be asked to create works that are nature-inspired, eco-aware and reflect the allotment culture and environment.
The Allotment Gallery activities will begin in May this year and run through until the end of September so keep your eye on our social media (Facebook and Instagram) for updates on how you can get involved.
We’ll be inviting four artists to create artworks for display as a rolling and dynamic exhibition within and around the allotment site. They’ll be asked to create works that are nature-inspired, eco-aware and reflect the allotment culture and environment.
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Download a copy of the Allotment Gallery flyer
We're happy to acknowldege the support of Arts Council England in funding Allotment Gallery. Over the years we've been fortunate to secure funding to bring great art into the day-to-day times and places around Stoke.
ACCESSIBLE SITE AND COMPOST LOO
We have been working with the Richmond Street Allotment committee over the past couple of years to support them to gain funding to make the community hut wheelchair accessible and a compost toilet has also been installed. If you have any questions about accessing the site please do email us [email protected] or call 07921 126694 |
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