Arts University Bournemouth & Parks Foundation collaboration

As part of their Fine Art degree, 2nd year AUB students are challenged to create and display work outside of their studio environment.

We invited them to explore and respond to Alexandra Park in Parkstone, one of our Pilot Parks. The students researched its history and spent time in the park meeting with visitors and local residents to discover what the park means to them.

The talented emerging artists used their findings to create sculpture, paintings, video, sound works and performances inspired by our green spaces and parks and people from the local communities using them. A final exhibition was held at Slades Farm with art works exhibited in the Park Pavilion and in the grounds of the park, in December 2021.

The project leader and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at AUB, Paul Finnegan, was very pleased with the collaborative venture. ‘Arts University Bournemouth aims to create a thriving digital and creative environment, as well as a richly artistic community, and encourages its students to give back to the Bournemouth and Poole area through its partnerships with local organisations such as The Parks Foundation, who we are pleased to be working with for the first time on this project.’

At The Parks Foundation, we are looking forward to future collaborations with the creative students at AUB. Below is a gallery of some of the work produced and exhibited as part of this initiative.

Images: Untitled, Amie Dodgson, Performance, 2021; Imitation, Ellie May Radestock, mirrors, 2021; AUB students at the exhibition; Along family land,  Antroniki Apostolou, paintings 2021; Hanging on to dear life, Esta Lenoir, sculptures in tree; Promotional Poster; Escape Together, Lynne Williams, Film, 2021

Published December 2021