Wide Open Space aims to develop a programme of strategic public art projects which place Dorset at the forefront of a new rural cultural agenda. These projects will add to existing evidence that art, craft and design contribute to making a better environment, creating sustainable communities, enhancing local distinctiveness and adding to our overall wellbeing. It is hoped they will place the county at the forefront of a new rural cultural agenda. It is an initiative of the Dorset Design and Heritage Forum, curated by Alex Murdin in association with Willis Newson and supported by funding from Arts Council England and Dorset County Council.
It is hoped that these case studies will add to
existing evidence that art, craft and design contribute to making a
better environment, creating sustainable communities, enhancing local
distinctiveness and adding to our overall wellbeing. Directly
supporting the aims of the Dorset Community Strategy, projects engage
with the interlinked issues of:
Creative engagement / rural housing
Traditional materials / innovative design
Collaborative design / protected landscapes
In order to help people in Dorset consider these issues and to develop their own projects these pages provide information on these themes, use the 4 commissioned projects as examples of what is possible and provide some practical advice on commissioning artists. They also include information on two conferences (links below) organised by the Dorset Design and Heritage Forum in 2011 which emphasised the ongoing need for adventurous partnerships who create spaces and places that allow for what is different, sublime and unexpected.
themes
sustainability & design quality / public space
creative engagement / rural housing
traditional materials / innovative design
collaborative design / protected landscapes
case studies
Rural roads protocol - Michael Pinsky
Intergeneration - London Fieldworks
Road for the future - Anna Best
Common places - ZMMA and Simon Thomas Pirie
information
the case for art in public places - values & evaluation
policy and strategies in Dorset
creative community planning
practicalities, project management and funding
conferences
Wide Open Space: art in public, localism and rural regeneration
The Wide Open Space conference took place on the 26th of May 2011. Focusing on the new agenda created by the Localism Bill speakers and the audience considered what the devolvement of planning powers to neighbourhoods means for the creation of high quality places and spaces in rural communities, in the context of a stark economic and political climate for non-standardised methodologies - more information and full documentation available here.
Healthy Communities and Sustainable Places
Healthy Communities and Sustainable Places was commissioned by Arts and Health South West and the Dorset Design and Heritage Forum and organised by Willis Newson. Held in February 2011 this one day looked at how can the arts reduce social isolation, improve community capital, encourage active travel and physical exercise and improve the food environment. The conference showcased an inspirational range of successful and effective arts-based approaches to creating healthy and sustainable places - post conference documentation of presentations, a review of evidence and a podcast is on the Willis Newson site.
