‘We must be warriors’: the fight to save the world’s only women’s park | Art and design

Tyears ago, when Claire Mander was studying art history MA at the Courtauld Institute in Londonfell from an unmaintained roof tower of the Temple subway station. He found himself strangely drawn to the expansive sky and its stunning views of the Thames and the London Eye.

“It was ugly, abandoned and a bit of a public outcry,” recalls Mander, now director and managing director of Colab, an arts charity and incubator that specializes in large-scale outdoor sculpture projects. He explored the history of the derelict site, which was built as part of the Victoria Embankment in 1870. Before that, the site was home to a 17th century picture garden designed by the Countess of Arundel.

“It inspired me to envision how a rooftop terrace could be a very special sculpture garden for women,” says Mander. “The subtlety of this place feels to me like the perfect place to break the gender gap that we see in public art.”

Research done by Art The UK revealed that of almost 1,500 monuments in London, more than one in five were dedicated to famous men and only 4% were dedicated to women, half of which celebrated animals. And of all the public sculptures in London, only 13% were created by women.

Mander continued to appeal to the Westminster Council until they finally gave him permission. With funding from donations and £500,000 to date from the council, the Artist Garden opened in October 2021. It is the first and only international sculpture garden dedicated to the work of female artists. Since then they have attracted 100,000 visitors a year, delivered 18 major projects, and partnered with 24 different emerging and established artists.

But now, the Colabs have been informed by Places for London, Transport for London’s London property, that their permission to occupy the site will not be renewed on 1 October and they will have to vacate the garden.

A spokesman for Places for London said: “The roof of the platform and the station may now require maintenance and safety, and the site will need to be prepared to assess the extent of the work required.”

Mander disputes this, saying that the renovation involves raising commercial property under the court, and according to the scope of the work, no major renovation of the roof is mentioned. He believes the property is at risk of being handed over to a private developer. “It’s a great place with amazing views of the river, perfect for VIP events selling expensive cocktails. They don’t understand that this is a very important project. Their opinion seems to be that we are a small, sad group led by women who are doing some great carvings. They have started a campaign and a petition to save the garden.

Alexandra Hodby, head of programs in Yorkshire sculpture Park and garden manager, says that such places are very important culturally and economically, for artists and the cities where they live. “Look at the High Line in New York. It wasn’t a public space, so it was publicized through art. Artists started it. Now it’s one of the most visited places in the city.

Hodby believes that sculpture has a unique power to engage people in ways that wall art does not. “There’s a lot going on right now, there’s no separation between work and the world.” This is true. On the day I visit, London is in the midst of a storm. Office workers, builders at breakfast, surprise guests, all filled the place. A small child crawls to Mexican artist Adeline de Monseignat’s Croissant, sure to spy the truth. In the distance, I see people taking selfies next to Alice Wilson’s Savoy, a vast forest of technicolor trees.

“Obviously, seeing art made by women inspires other women who want to make art themselves. But it goes beyond that,” said Hodby. “To stand is to be a part of society and to be seen. Visibility allows visitors to see themselves, whether it’s the Artist’s Garden or Yorkshire Sculpture Park where we try to show a wide range of artists including non-binary, queer practice and young artists.”

Lakwena Maciver created the opening exhibition, a kaleidoscopic painting called Back in the Air: A Meditation on Higher Ground. It is spread over a total area of ​​140 sq-metres. For the British-Ugandan artist, the site has a special meaning. “When I was a teenager, we used to take the train into town and I remember sitting in Embankment Gardens eating Skittles with my sister. I was thinking about my future and I felt that, like a few people, London was not mine. Being asked to do the painting was very special because I was being invited to give something really big. It was like, I’ve never had a lot of work, but I’ve never had a lot of work! coming to this place, it gave me a lot of confidence.”

Artist Florence Peake created a work for the latest exhibition Sculpture in Three Acts. “It’s rare these days in London to find a gallery that is independent and has no commercial agenda. It’s a place to show, breathe and have art that will attract you, and have a place to show it.”

He believes that the garden has provided a very important place. “It helps visitors to see that women can create a large monolithic work. Yes we can! It’s just that we are often not trusted that we are ambitious and ambitious. Our vision is often rejected and considered as worthless. This is what I have experienced in my 30 years of being an artist. A man comes and says ‘I want to build a big 1’8 meter with metal that sticks. The woman thinks the same, there is a sidelong look of worry.

In the center of the garden is an art gallery, which houses a circular sculpture by the feminist artist Linder Sterling. “The Artist’s Garden is in the Temple, which used to be the territory of the Knights Templar,” he says. “It seems that women are supposed to be soldiers now and defend our right to take the land there.”

Overlooking the back wall of the montage is a portrait of the Countess of Arundel, reminding us of the lineage of women who have gone before. “On one of the walls of the cabin, you can see the words ‘He Is Here’, the title of the work, written in large letters,” added Sterling. “Now that this place is in danger, She Is Here has become a rallying cry – we’re not going anywhere.”