Offsite9: Plant Fete - Charlotte Dunn
Charlotte Dunn is recreating a ‘floral fete’ within Wolverhampton’s West Park, inspired by traditional fete stands and plant selling events of the 19th Century. Her work Plant Fete will host a plant swap, recreating the community fetes that once helped the development of the park.
What do you know about the history of the ‘floral fete’ within West Park?
The land now occupied by West Park was previously known as the Broad Meadows. Three years after Birmingham's first park had opened it was suggested that a municipal park be laid out on the site. There was desperate need for public open spaces to provide those living in rapidly growing towns with opportunities for health and recreation. The summer of 1881 saw the opening of what became West Park.
Many gifts were made to the park in the early years, including ducks and swans for the lake, several glacial boulders and a four-faced clock. The park became a community project with members of the public coming together to improve the look and feel of the park. Its crowning glory, the conservatory, was built in 1896 with the proceeds of the town's Floral Fete, held every year in the park. It was then held between 1889 and 1939 and provided a place for people to exchange plants they had grown and to raise money for the park through a community event for those in the area. It allowed people from industrial communities to begin to appreciate nature by coming into the park and gave them a sense of belonging and togetherness, all of which echoes BAS9’s theme ‘tactics of togetherness’.
How can people get involved in Plant Fete?
You can contribute a drawing or image of a plant that you have seen or know would grow within West Park and enter the image on my website. These images will make up the canopy of the stand that will be in place in West Park and Wolverhampton School of Art for the live plant swap in April. Everyone can also get involved by donating any sort of plant to the swap.
What are your hopes for the project?
I hope that everyone can get involved in growing and swapping, that people will get outside and visit West Park for inspiration. The stand is being created at the School of Art and will be left in situ for students to host their own swap every year, getting everyone involved in a tradition that was used for years to generate income for the city in which the University is situated.
How does Plant Fete fit within your wider artistic practice?
Plant Fete is very different to my usual practice and is only my second community project. My practice always involves the natural world and science. I hope that Plant Fete will help me to look at how the community can respond to nature and science to produce art.