Battery Woodland Public Art Commission
This project involved working closely with the landscape architect, Adam Rout, and the parks department of Trafford MBC; special projects manager Peter Stringer and community officer Kevin Wigley, from the Red Rose Forest Team at CFNW and the Friends of Kingsway Park. I subcontracted artist Karen Allerton to work with me mainly on the community consultation part of the project, as this was a very extensive component of the commission.
We researched the significance of the site and its role as a gun battery defending Trafford Park during World War II and devised a number of consultation activities to engage with local people. This had a knock-on affect and it wasn’t long before we were sitting with a cup of tea in the front room of an older resident hearing her first hand account of life in the war years when the park housed guns. We collaborated closely with the key partners: The Friends of Kingsway Park, Red Rose Forest and Trafford MBC and were especially sympathetic to the aspirations of the Friends group.
Date
2008
Client
Community Forests North West & Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council in conjunction with The Friends of Kingsway Park
Photos
Sarah MacAdam