GREAN Art Garden
GREAN Art Garden has been developed as part of the Community Garden to create a space in which contemporary art can be experienced at first hand. Spaces and platforms are available for artists to display their work in a unique environment.
A trellis designed by Nigel Mullan has been installed along two sides of the garden, fostering a sense of seclusion and raising the eye line to emphasise the mountains behind Golspie. The garden is laid out on an hexagonal pattern, and the trellis reflects this, with thin lathes woven into geometric shapes.The central part of the garden, at the meeting point of four paths, has been paved with squares of Caithness slab incised with another geometric pattern mimicking a flower, picked out in red. In the four corners, between the paths, stand four columns of Clashach stone, increasing in size from 0.5m to 1.5m high; their cross section changes with height, and the surfaces are inscribed with a semi-ordered pattern based on that of stomatal pores found on the underside of leaves.
In the peripheral beds three Caithness slab structures have been erected to serve a variety of purposes. One will provide additional seating, and all are platforms for the display of outdoor artworks. Their positioning and the perspectives they create form the second tier of architectural elements in the garden, building on the basic layout and dividing space to highlight different planting regimes.
More seating, made of recycled plastic milk bottles, is being installed to allow the central area to be viewed during performances. The furniture is low maintenance, needing no painting or preservatives, and ties in with the recycling theme of the garden.
Considerable interest is being generated by the project, with enquiries from many local artists and visits from councillors and MSPs. Golspie High School Art department has shown a close interest and press coverage has been very favourable. One dramatic performance has already been staged, artworks produced by local children are ready for installation, and a series of fortnightly musical performances, probably with dancing, is planned for the summer of 2008. Funding has been provided by Highland 2007, Landfill Community Fund, The National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council, GREAN, Golspie High School, and Co-op Community Dividend.
The Art Garden project has increased access to contemporary art for the whole community as well as creating a place to meet in the centre of Golspie. The Art Garden is set to become a prominent venue for all sorts of art-related activities, which stimulate interest in and raise awareness of artistic issues.