YARDENFEST- REVIEW

YARDENFEST – REVIEW 

By Michelle Rheeston-Humphreys

YARDENFEST was the first AirSpace Bird Yarden event for 2014 programmed to celebrate the closing of the triumphant PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS.

YARDENFEST was conceived to honour PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS' core ideologies, but relocated to specifically explore the creative and political notions surrounding outside space. Typically on the day of the event the ‘outside’ spirit showed up in the form of torrential rain. But the changeable British weather didn’t disappoint and the sun came out and indeed dried up all the rain, well for a few hours at least. The festivities went ahead surrounded by the sunlit beauty of the yarden flowers and foliage.

YARDENFEST guests enjoyed newly commissioned YARDENFESTO art works, activities and a pertinently decent soundtrack. And of course the smells and tastes of the AirSpace BBQ and the wonderful company and conversation that arose.

Guests young and old enjoyed making their own flags and YARDENFESTOS at the YARDENFESTO workshop in the AirSpace resource room, which proved very handy during the downpour. They were able to express their own ideas and feelings about outside space and the interrelated themes such as: ecology/ eco systems, protecting endangered species, intervention in small space, gardening activism, community gardening, DIY- reclaiming- re-cycling, sustainability, survival, environmental concerns for the future or even an anti capitalist protest.

Visitors were also able to take part in Bird Relief by making and wearing red beaks highlighting the vast amount of British birds that are on the endangered species list. Artist Katrinka Wilson reiterated this concern in her bird burning action during the event. Meanwhile outside, visitors could help in the creation of the Yarden’s new hanging plastic bottle planters, or search for bees on the bee hunt. Guests could also search for the newly commissioned YARDENFESTO artworks situated in and around the yarden.

 Midlands based artist duo (h)edge kelektiv further employed this idea of searching in their piece ‘Microcosm Manifestoes’, a playful portrait of six poignant 20th century artist manifestos. Each depiction manifest as a little chelseaesque themed terrarium; placed somewhere within the yarden’s perimeters. The intervention toyed with the notion of spaces found within spaces - realising valuable and interesting spaces within the immediate environment- a tribute to the Yarden. Crucial was the selection, all of the manifestoes chosen (fluxus, situationist, surrealist, stuckist, cheap art and maintenance art) embody the idea of finding, negotiating and or creating spaces/places within,in some way, either physically or metaphorically.

Manchester based artist Jane Lawson's piece Manifesto #2 is situated ideally amongst the shrubbery just next to the gooseberry bush, the perfect conditions for it to cultivate. It is a book (Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom) inoculated with oyster mushroom spawn, the fungus used to signify a detoxification of the global financial system- and it is maturing with some zeal. At present it is growing in a manner as to suggest the growth of ears, for its front cover portrait may even be listening- taking note of the financial chaos that has ensued. Just before the sumptuous pink oyster mushrooms completely ‘takeover’ and detoxify. They will soon provide a beautiful rich crop – providing some mushroom soup for one of AirSpace's famous Soup Kitchens perhaps?

You can find about more about Jane's practice at: http://www.janelawson.co.uk

From across the yarden the conversation continues, Stoke based artist Martin Gooding’s piece ‘Corporate Growth’ echoes this sentiment with his more customary wall based YARDENFESTO. It depicts the image of Friedrich Hayek’s counterpart and friend Milton Friedman. Along with his image, his 10 rules of capitalism are pasted over the reclaimed wooden support and frame. The idea being that they will be slowly consumed by the anarchistic powers of nature- eventually there will be only moss, framed as a testament to the powers of nature. 

You can find about more about Martin's practice at: http://cargocollective.com/blastphemy

Jake Kent’s Banner ‘ Kill Your Inner Cop’ hangs boldly over the substation adjoining the AirSpace Yarden transforming its utility; now reminiscent of a community group hut albeit a militant one. ‘Kill Your Inner Cop’ explores Foucault's ideas surrounding self societal normalising and policing. Confronting the audience to question their own 'inner cop'. At what price does this conformity come; the rules, which bind - what are they based on and are they really for better or for worse?
A performance cum-action was planned for the event- the artist on bike as usher, with flag publicising YARDENFEST but unfortunately events conspired against him, maybe next time?

You can find about more about Jake's practice at: http://jakekent.co.uk

Conspicuously the outlined figure nestled into the corner of the Yarden stage, appears to be showering under the buddleia and climbers. This commissioned YARDENFESTO ‘Self Contained Studio Flat’ by Birmingham based artist Danijela Vunduk, discusses topical issues surrounding owing and occupying space; within the contemporary economy and environment on both a global and local level. Conversely it celebrates our human ability to adapt and renew an fitting sentiment to the AirSpace yarden and to the core values of YARDENFEST.

You can find about more about Danijela's practice at: www.danijelavunduk.moonfruit.com



..And in the end YARDENFEST was a happy conclusion to PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTO.

Manifesto #2 by Jane Lawson

To mark the closing of the recent AirSpace exhibition, PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS, we held an event in the Gallery's green space - the Bird Yarden. The event - YARDENFEST - celebrated outdoor activism, and as part of a packed day, we put out a call for artworks that responded to both the Yarden and the manifesto format that had been so eclectically covered in PIGDOG.

One of those was Manifesto #2 - the work of Manchester-based artist, Jane Lawson (http://www.janelawson.co.uk/). The work sees a copy of Friedrich Hayek's key neoliberal text The Road to Serfdom inoculated with oyster mushroom spawn, where the fungus is used to to signify a detoxification of the global financial system;





Jane says,

"oyster mushrooms can detoxify a wide range of substances including hydrocarbons, making them an ideal candidate for tackling an economic system built on the cheap energy provided by fossil fuels."

On delivery and installation, the work looked simply like a well thumbed paperback, as Jane slightly sank it into the soft earth of one of the Yarden's plant beds.  Over the last 2 weeks, however, these little pink caps started to splurge from the pages offering a sense of growth and optimism from the midsts of an ideology which many believe to be the root of the modern world's ills.

Jane describes the the impact of Hayek -

The Road to Serfdom was written in the early 1940s and warned that government control of economic decision-making through central planning would lead inevitably to tyranny. In 1947 Hayek and Milton Friedman, among others, set up the Mont Pelerin Society  which played a significant part in developing and promoting the neoliberal economic orthodoxy that has given us our current highly unequal and exploitative financial system. Hayek and Friedman's ideas played a critical part in Margaret Thatcher's determination to “roll back the state" and in the deregulation of the financial markets that paved the way for the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent bank bailout.

It's interesting that the Oyster Mushroom was cultivated in Germany as a subsistence measure during World War I and today is a recognisable global foodstuff, lending a certain resonance to the work when considering the recent statistics from the US and UK - two countries in the top 5 richest in the world,  both of whom have a significant neoliberal economic past - regarding poverty levels and emergence of social welfare food banks.



Finally, for Jane,

Manifesto #2 embodies the unpredictability of trying to harness natural processes to human agendas;  whether the book actually goes on to produce a tasty crop of mushrooms will be dependent on the weather and on competing organisms such as green mould. It also represents the longevity of natural processes versus human systems; capitalism, although currently culturally presented to us as the only feasible economic system, is historically recent and globally anomalous, while fungi have been around for at least 1,000 million years and will almost certainly outlast us.

So, as well as looking forward to harvesting these pink mushrooms for dinner one night, it's really comforting to think that that in our busy lives, while we're otherwise concerned and thinking elsewhere, there's a patch of the AirSpace Bird Yarden which is tackling this divisive economic ideology.

Thanks Jane!

YARDENFEST - The Micro Commissions

gar·den [gahr-dn]
noun

1. a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs arecultivated.

2. a piece of ground or other space, commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park orother public recreation area: a public garden.

3. a fertile and delightful spot or region.

4. British , yard2 ( def 1 ) .

yard [yahrd]
noun

1. the ground that immediately adjoins or surrounds a house, public building, or other structure.

2. an enclosed area outdoors, often paved and surrounded by or adjacent to a building; court.

3. an outdoor enclosure designed for the exercise of students, inmates, etc.: a prison yard.

4. an outdoor space surrounded by a group of buildings, as on a college campus.

5. a pen or other enclosure for livestock.

YARDENFEST is the closing event for Shaun Doyle and Mally Mallinson's PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS exhibition, currently showing at AirSpace Gallery. PIGDOG was originally conceived as a response to the curators' perceived dearth in manifesto writing in contemporary art or at least in what, historically, we consider a manifesto to be. Yardenfest continues the theme and responds in particular to themes of the possibilities for and viability of solutions to outdoor space.

Sited in the Gallery's Bird Yarden - a transformed Victorian Yard Space, YARDENFEST promises a day long social gathering and celebration full of activities, workshops, music and food.

As part of the event, from an open call, AirSpace has commissioned 5 artists/groups to make and permanently site a YARDENFESTO - or manifesto for the Yarden.

Responding to themes such as, but not limited to, -ecology/ eco systems, endangerment, intervention, gardening activism, DIY, reclaim-/re-cycle, sustainability and survival, community gardening environmental concerns, the future, protest, the 5 selected artists artworks are:

Martin Gooding

CORPORATE GROWTH

2014

Milton Friedman, the father of free-market capitalism, spoke frequently on the power of the individual, promoting a greed-centric market designed only to profit the shareholder. This economic system is the backbone of modern western society. Free-market capitalism provided the perfect environment for the financial problems currently effecting modern Europe. It works on a system of self-regulation and economic freedom that is unheard of in everyday life.

“Corporate Growth” pits the uncontrollable power of capitalism against the unstoppable force of nature using moss as a medium, combining eco-friendly art techniques with traditional protest art.

Mr Friedman’s many texts on capitalism have been condensed and brutally simplified into ten “rules” strongly influenced by the use of manifestos in mainstream and alternative politics. These rules illustrate the essence of the world inhabited by Friedman’s natural heir, the bankers, and provide an insight into a world so self-interested that most viewers couldn’t imagine following these rules on a day- to-day basis.

The demonic and haunting image of Mr. Friedman and his teachings, are slowly consumed by the anarchistic powers of nature, torn apart and destroyed by the unrelenting growth of the moss. Eventually there will be only moss, framed as a testament to the powers of nature.

The cut and paste aesthetic harks back to past anti-establishment movements such as the zine culture prevalent in the late seventies that provided a platform for the downtrodden and ignored. All materials are reclaimed or collected staying true to the artist’s DIY ethos providing a new life to rotting and dead timber.

Martin Gooding - an abstract painter and collagist working and living in Stoke-On-Trent as well as a keen community and participatory artist working with the local community. Works are predominantly anti-capitalist and anti-fascist using strong political and religious imagery, working primarily using aged photocopiers and repeated layering and image destruction.

http://cargocollective.com/blastphemyl

Danijela Vunduk

SELF-CONTAINED STUDIO FLAT

2014

The piece ‘self-contained studio flat’, comments on the difficulty of owning space in our overcrowded and out-priced cities. The ‘flat’ board and standing space serve as the smallest possible living space to support a human life and all its possessions. Surrounding the crime scene style androgynous shape is an investigative collage of the material bits and pieces that fill our homes, some not necessarily essential others we have come to regard as such.

The chaotic placement of found and recycled objects and images encroaching onto the inhabitant’s personal space refer to the claustrophobia of modern life, the only empty space being the ‘human shape’. The structure itself, formed out of reclaimed wood, is coffin-like and rigid. It draws uncomfortable parallels with ancient burial plots in which the deceased is surrounded by items used in life. If we de-cluttered our lives, loosened our material ties would we feel freer, less suffocated and stressed?

Not solely a criticism of city living as this installation also focuses on human ingenuity, our ability to adapt and find solutions to limited space. The standing space a pallet, referring to the design brilliance of shipping container homes. An object transformed from one use to another in a form of recycling and multi-function. Playing on the same ideas, ‘Self-contained studio flat’ comes complete with a vegetable garden beneath, fertilised by the occupant- during every shower among other things…

Danijela Vunduk is a props and costume designer/maker based in Birmingham.www.danijelavunduk.moonfruit.com

Jake Kent

KILL YOUR INNER COP

(Banner & Performance)

2014

A squat in Amsterdam bears a banner that reads JULLIE WETTEN NIET DE

ONZE! – translated as YOUR LAWS NOT OURS. It rests above a stage where bands now play, however it was once at the front of a march against anti-squatting laws in The Netherlands.

In a house in Berlin there is a poster of Robert Mapplethorpe, that one with the machine gun, with added text – CHRISTIAN TAKEOVER? STRIKE

BACK! Next to this, another, featuring an image of a bulldog with a police hat and the words KILL YOUR INNER COP. This is not the only residence of these posters; they are pasted on the walls and street-objects of the city.


In a university building in Nottingham, there is a 6-metre banner with the same words KILL YOUR INNER COP. This is a work that was made with the aforementioned images in mind, along with others found on the various cultural pursuits I find myself engaged with. It also calls forward Foucault and his use of the panopticon as a “metaphor for modern "disciplinary" societies and their pervasive inclination to observe and normalise”. To act upon this work is to undo a bind, one that is internal and often unnoticed. Like Adam Curtis said “There is a policeman in all of our heads: he must be destroyed”.

To accompany the banner and using the phrase as an usher is a performance- cum-action. This consists of cycling in the city centre on a bike with a custom flag, commission for this event, inviting people to Yardenfest and handing out remaining PIGDOGANDMONKEYFESTOS newsprints like disseminating political propaganda.

Jake Kent is an artist based in Nottingham and co-runs Triple O.G. with John Harris.

http://www.jakekent.co.uk/

http://jakexkent.tumblr.com/

(h)edge keletiv

HIDE AND SEEK MICROCOSM MANIFESTOS

2014

Is a collection of vivarium each taking inspiration from one of six, selected art manifestos of the 20th Century (Surrealist Manifesto, Situationist Manifesto, Cheap Art Manifesto, Fluxus Manifesto, Maintenance Art Manifesto, Stuckist Manifesto), in a ‘Chelseaesque’ themed garden exhibition. Each one is hidden amongst the flora and vegetation of the AirSpace Bird Yarden, which is itself a ‘tiny’ green refuge within the city- each vivarium waiting to be discovered and examined.

This intervention explores the notion of space within space and unexpected sanctuaries- both public and private, interior space- a space within, a sense of place and the landscape within a frame.

It plays with the idea of discovery; the magical wonder of encountering objects and texts that discreetly twists your expectations. To come across something you didn’t realize was there, poses a question- what else is there to find? This decentering, this questioning leads to activation and to participation- it persuades the viewer to look – to see; it exposes an effect- the suspension of belief in things and places and the notion of potential and alternative possibilities.

This is our celebration and representation of manifestos. Coded declarations that encapsulate greater, wider, bigger ideas: manifestos fascinate us. They are poetic, anomalous and militant; written like streams of consciousness, directly from the heart to the hand. Their meanings have to be wrested from the shape of words: the artist intentions are grasped like a sense impression rather than through the sequential arrangements of the words.

They also critically delineate a position on the cultural map, rejecting normative values and approaches and asserting the role of artist as an activist. Our microcosms celebrate this defiance by symbolically locating representations of artist manifestos, in a space created to challenge the idea that humans cannot exist in harmony with the environment.

(h)edge kelektiv are a performative arts group with a specific interest in places, people and things that are on the verge. The work is in the trajectory of the situationalist movement and poetically tests theories through practice; using traditional skills, we interrogate paradoxical realism and narrative in contemporary environments and contexts.

Jane Lawson

MANIFESTO #2

2014

Manifesto #2 is the second in a series of manifestos inspired by Pigdogandmonkeyfestos. It also part of a larger body of work which I started in 2012 with Bioremediation I, in which I detoxified the global financial system (in the form of twelve portraits representing institutions such as ratings agencies, governments and banks) with oyster mushrooms, and exhibited the resulting oil painting/fungus ecosystem alongside a timeline showing the development of the financial system since the evolution of homo sapiens. Oyster mushrooms can detoxify a wide range of substances, including hydrocarbons, making them an ideal candidate to detoxify an economic system built on the cheap energy provided by burning fossil fuels, with the attendant disastrous consequences for our climate and ecosystem.

Manifesto #2 is a copy of The Road to Serfdom inoculated with pink oyster mushroom spawn; by the time of Yardenfest it should have been thorougly colonised with mycelium. Beyond this, there are no guarantees; pink oyster mushrooms prefer warm temperatures, so what happens next will be down to the glorious British summer. To maximise the chances of a healthy crop, I have supply sawdust inoculated with brown oyster mushroom spawn – this takes longer to fruit, but can tolerate lower temperatures

One of the ideas Manifesto #2 presents is the longevity of natural systems versus human systems; capitalism, although currently culturally presented to us as the only feasible economic system, is historically recent and globally anomalous, while fungi have been around for at least 1,000 million years and will almost certainly outlast us. Manifesto #2 also illustrates uncertainty and the unpredictability of trying to harness natural processes to humanb agendas.

The book itself will degrade over time, feeding the surrounding micro-organisms and plants

Jane Lawson is an artist based in Manchester working to make visual sense of the complex processes and systems underpinning human existence and seeking to embody alternatives to the dominant cultural narrative which claims that the present economic system, although flawed, is our only realistic option.

http://www.janelawson.co.uk/

The Bird Yarden is a Winner

The culmination of The Bird Yarden project, which has been around 8 months, came yesterday as we were invited to Burnwood Nursery School for a presentation ceremony for the winners and runners-up  in Stoke-on-Trent's first Pride in our City Gardening Competition.

AirSpace Gallery won for The Bird Yarden, in the competition's Business category, and walked away with £100 gardening vouchers to be spent at Trentham Gardens Garden Centre.

It was gratifying to go along to the ceremony and see so many people passionate about transforming a variety of city spaces,
in both the private and public realm. There are many benefits to be gained from working with and reintroducing natural habitats into our cities, but of particular interest to us at the gallery is the transformation of brownfield sites into thriving natural ecosystems, and it was really interesting that a couple of the prizewinners were reintroducing a sense of the wildflower
meadow in to the city.

Our previously neglected and overgrown backyard now has an extra purpose, and is certainly being enjoyed by a large number of regular avian visitors. However, in a sense, the work is only just beginning, as the next step is to encourage people to want to use it. Of course, it will be used as a resource space for the Gallery, as a location for exhibitions, workshops, performances and socials. But we really want members of the public to know about it, and to come and use it in their leisure time, as a place to sit and think and enjoy.

That is the task for the next few months, but for now, we are enjoying our status of competition winners!! and we know that without the help of a few people it would not be possible.

So, in no particular order, we'd like to thank

• The plant donors and advisers, Carol Britnell, Beryl Stoker, Carrie Pletscher, Shellie Gregory and Rachel Ballard.
• Professor Chris Baines for agreeing to come and deliver the keynote talk at out opening, giving the event a real sense of gravitas, and of course for authoring our key research text, "How To Make A Wildlife Garden" which is still in print into its 3rd decade!
• Clive Mollart and David Tideswell for their advice on gardening and birds and for being great knowledgeable contributors at our opening.
• The artists whose works have given the Yarden a unique look - Pete R. Smith, Shellie Gregory, Cristina Fraser, Kate Lynch and Su Hurrel.
• All the volunteers over the various incarnations of the project who have come and weeded and listened and talked and generally showed an interest in the project.

AirSpace Yarden - The Blue Winged Grasshopper

The Yarden continues to be a stimulus for entomological knowledge. Look at this picture, and you might not see what was sitting happily on the mallow, minding its own business. But on closer inspection you would notice the tiny blue speck, standing motionless, until a sudden spring takes you by surprise and you lose it. The Blue Winged Grasshopper , or Oedipoda caerulescens, is prevalent throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia. However, the interesting thing here is that the grasshoppers are drawn to areas of open vegetation, which is exactly the sort of terrain that characterises Stoke-on-Trent in its emptied-out, post-demolition state.

AirSpace Yarden - Two Curious Insect Visitors

Sitting in the Yarden today, we were struck by two previously unseen (to us) insect visitors buzzing and fluttering around the pollen-rich plants.

First, this unusual bee which at first sight was pure black on the upper side of its abdomen, and pure yellow on its underside. It seems to bee living in our Bug Hotel - the Mini Beasts Wall which we introduced to attract insects.

Some research led us to its name - it's a Leafcutter Bee or Megachilidae and the yellow on its underneath is actuallly pollen which it keeps there as a pose to on the legs like the conventional bee. The Leafcutter name comes from their propensity for nesting material - our DogWood is full of neat circular holes) and it's solitary, making our Bug Hotel the perfect accommodation.



Our other insect attraction today was the Small White or Small Cabbage White, or Pieris rapae, characterised by a white upper and green underwing, and two small black dots on the upper centre of each wing. They are beautiful delicate little things, and loving our geraniums and salvias in particular.
It's funny that we probably curse the Small White when it's young, as it destroys our cabbages, kale, radishes and broccoli - yet marvel at the delicate beauty of the mature adult.

AirSpace Gallery - a new artwork arrives

Coming from its starring roll at Lichfield Cathedral, part of 2013 Lichfield Festival, AirSpace Gallery is now the proud guardian of Pete R. Smith's latest creation, "Bird Bath for the weary Bird"

Pete says -

As an artist I create installations sometimes involving mechanical surrogate forms, other times involving remoulded debris that have been retired from their previous duties and reclaimed into artistic duties. Within this they often take on mass and menial functions reflecting the everyday chores in our lives. I am interested in what mass production means and how this affects our day to day living. I am curious about those ghosts of our presence having been there and what we may leave behind us if even it is but only an echo?

Made from reclaimed debris from my explorations and childhood, the bird bath features two car trailer mud guards converted into luxury bathing suite’s for any weary bird that just happens to be in the Herb Garden and needing a good wash and preen.

The Bird Bath now has a permanent place in the AirSpace Yarden.

The AirSpace Yarden - an update

A month or so after the launch, the Bird Yarden has grown amazingly. Thanks to a series of unseasonally warm and dry summer days, interspersed with some more familiar rainy ones, all of the plants have come on in leaps and bounds. And the signs for the birds are encouraging too, as many of the berry-producing plants, such as the Rowan tree and the white and red currants are already showing signs of fruit.

The Yarden's birds are well catered for, after the successful raffle held on Launch Day, and the ravenous Goldfinches in particular will be pleased to know that there are enough sunflower seeds to keep them going for the rest of the year.

Since the opening day, we have been concerned with planning how we can open the space up to the public, with our preferred option being that at times when the Gallery is closed, people can apply for the padlock code, to let themselves in to the Yard and enjoy the space on their own terms. We are planning a barbeque event to which we hope to invite local business holders and shopworkers to come and see the Yarden, and offer it to them as a space to have their lunches etc.

We have also entered the Yarden into Stoke-on-Trent Council's Gardening Competition. Following the success of the BCB/Stoke-on-Trent Transformation Garden at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, where it was awarded a silver medal, the council has launched a competition in which the challenge is to turn yards, garden, play grounds and open spaces into beautiful spaces filled with flowers and creativity. We think the Yarden fits the bill perfectly, and whether we are successful or not, hope that it will be another avenue to telling the City about this wonderful secluded city haven.

The AirSpace Bird Yarden - The Launch

After months of consultation, planning, designing, clearing, building and planting the Bird Yarden finally opened its doors to the public on May 4th, 2013. The weather gods were kind to us as early morning showers cleared by opening time, and improved to the extent that by the end of the day, we were basking in warm Spring sunshine, with the Yarden looking a picture.

The day was full of activities and talks.

Kate Lynch's Seed Bomb Making Workshop proved a hit, as was the Bird Painting, in which a flock of uniquely decorated wooden bird outlines formed a bespoke flock on the Gallery wall by the end of the day.

Four talks and demonstrations were scheduled, starting with Trentham Gardens' Clive Mollart, who was on hand throughout the day to solve any garden design problems brought to him by the Yarden's visitors.

Local bird enthusiast, David Tideswell gave a really engaging, animated and insightful demonstration as to how to build the perfect birdbox, littering his talk with amusing anecdotes and asides. Particularly fascinating was his choice of constituents for his nesting material holders - he fills them with moss, carpet hair, cat and dog hair, and even his own hair, which he collects after each trip to the barbers.

BBC Countryfile's Professor Chris Baines delivered the keynote speech. It was really amazing to have a conservationist and horticulturalist of Chris's standing at the gallery, especially as it was his birthday that day!

Chris is the national vice-president of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and built Chelsea Flower Show's first ever wildlife garden in 1985. He delivered a fascinating talk on wildlife gardening and the nature of the future, taking his audience on a journey from the basics of wildlife gardening, and how natural wildlife areas form, to how they can be incorporated into the contemporary urban situation, positing the theory that with a committed collaborative approach by all the stakeholders in a given city, successful wildlife areas can be incorporated into a city's infrastructure for the benefit of all.

After a brief break for refreshments, back out in the Yarden, the day was rounded off by "Speaking in Tongues" artist Sarah R. Key, who delivered an insightful talk into her working practices and the themes running through the show.





It was so gratifying to see a busy, engaged and appreciative audience throughout the Yarden's Launch Day, and it gave us confidence that the space can grow to become an important secluded greenspace and community space for the City.

Have a look at the slideshow of pictures from an amazing day.