A Sculpture Park for Ebley?

A year ago the local press reported that there was a plan for a five-acre Sculpture Park at the Snow Mill, Ebley. The owners, Snow Business is a company well known locally and has made snow for hundreds of movies including Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bridget Jones Diary and Bond films. Yet for some reason this exciting idea seemed to have been dropped.

In a casual conversation I learnt that Snowbusiness were still keen for the project so over the last few months I've started to sound out local opinion. Many people seem to be in favour of the idea. In the street questionnaire for the Cainscross Parish Plan, that I have been helping to compile, we found 58% in favour of a sculpture park, 33% having no strong opinion and 9% saying it wasn’t a good idea.

Local artists also responded positively to the idea, so today I went with Lis Parker, a local representative of Stroud Arts Forum to the Snow Mill to find out more.

Darcey Crownshaw met with us at the Snow Mill (see photo above) and shared his vision: a sculpture park to allow local artists who create large items to exhibit their work at an annual festival and maybe two mini-festivals during the year. Snowbusiness would provide the facilities free of charge, pay the set up costs and receive no commission on sales. There was also the possibility of funding 'Artists in Residence' which schools could visit and a £10,000 plus prize every two years that would aim to be the Turner prize of the sculpture world. The secure site would not be open to the public the rest of the time.

This seems an exciting proposal, but clearly there are many issues that need addressing.

Arts already has a big place in Stroud - and there is certainly room for more - sculpture being one area that is less celebrated here than 2-D art. The Daily Telegraph once wrote that Stroud is to arts what Hay-on-Wye is to books! We already have the nationally-acclaimed Stroud College School of Art, Design & Media and the wonderful 'Open Studios 'each year - those great colourful flags have just gone up in town. World famous artist Damien Hirst has also just announced he is to turn the old Automold premises in Dudbridge into an arts production studio for paintings and sculptures with showing space.

“The creative energy that surges through Stroud and the surrounding valleys is extraordinary, stimulating and exhilarating at the same time.” Matthew Fort, journalist and Guardian Food Editor writing in the open studios directory.

I will certainly be exploring the Sculpture Park idea further - ideas welcomed!