3 May - 28 September 2008

The inaugural Biennial set the scene for future Biennials, marking Tatton Park as a significant and innovative addition to both Cheshire and the UK's expanding visual arts events.  An outstanding array of special commissioned artworks from emerging and mid career artists were complemented by a significant programme of linked events,  talks, symposia, workshops, education and outreach projects, artists' performances and tours.  A publication detailing the work leading up to the Biennial is available.

The programme and artworks for 2008 was curated by Danielle Arnaud and Jordan Kaplan from commissioning group Parabola, and was to be installed within Tatton Park’s formal gardens and wider estate. For 2008, the Biennial focused on Botanical Collections and Collectors. Working with a different thematic for each subsequent event, the Biennial commissioned new artworks that respond specifically to Tatton Park’s varied spaces and historical associations, offering both cultural and interpretive value to Tatton’s many visitors. Tatton Park Biennial 2008 delivered a nationally significant event, establishing itself as a renowned site for artistic investigation and offering a high-profile opportunity for artists to create new work for one of the Northwest of England’s most interesting and diverse heritage venues.

 

The 2008 theme of Botanical Collections and Collectors provided a direct link to Cheshire’s Year of Gardens ’08 and offered Tatton Park’s Arboretum, Pineapple House, Conservatory, Kitchen Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Italian Garden, Fern House and Azalea collection (amongst others) as sites and subjects for new art production.

 

For 2008, 6 major commissions were augmented by a further 12 smaller-scale works, many of which ‘revealed’ themselves at different points during the Biennial’s five month run. All commissions developed enriched understandings of Tatton Park’s gardens and their legacies, both social and horticultural.

 

Tatton Park itself provides the continuity between the Biennials, each of which will adopt a different curatorial theme and be clearly differentiated from generic ‘art in the garden’ exhibitions. The genesis for each theme will be found in Tatton Park’s own spaces and history, with each Biennial drawing out creative responses to a particular facet of the site.

 

The 2008 Biennial was curated to attract a national profile in the specialist arts sector, but was also accessible and relevant to a much broader audience.

 

This objective was achieved through careful selection of artists and artworks and also through interpretive material and the opportunities created by the substantial Education and Access Programme


For further information visit the Tatton Park Biennial website

or contact: info@tattonparkbiennial.org


    

Images:

'I am so sorry.  Goodbye. Escape Vehicle No 4' sited by Golden Pond by Heather & Ivan Morison
'The Way of the Barefoot Lone Pilgrim: Samurai Story' by David Blandy
'Rarefied (Phalaenopsis lobii)' by Jo Coupe
'To Travel, To Dream, To Wish' by Faye Claridge