A NEW exhibition created by young people from across the UK will open at the National Memorial Arboretum this weekend.
Green Spaces, Shared Places – Past Present and Future explores the connections between landscapes, communities and the natural world.
It opens tomorrow (11th July) as part of Art Fund’s UK-wide touring exhibition programme, Going Places, bringing together museums, artists and local communities to uncover the stories held within the places around them.
Over the past year, the young people have worked together to co-curate the exhibition, selecting stories, objects and creative responses that explore the evolving relationship between people, plants and wildlife.
Featuring historic collections and new art commissions, it will offer visitors a fresh perspective on what it means to be a "green place".
Alongside the touring exhibition, visitors can also experience Green Spaces, Shared Places – Gathering, a new outdoor commission by artist Emma Dawson Varughese, created in collaboration with the arboretum's youth steering group and pupils from local schools.
The installation features pyrography artworks inspired by young people's experiences of green spaces, alongside The Komorebi Tapestry, a collaborative artwork created using fallen leaves collected from across the Alrewas site.
Aaron Rossi, exhibitions and heritage manager at the National Memorial Arboretum, said:
"This exhibition has been a truly collaborative journey, bringing together young people, artists, museums and communities to explore the stories held within our landscapes.
"Working with our partners through the Art Fund’s Going Places programme has given us the opportunity to look at the Arboretum and our shared green spaces through a fresh perspective, shaped by the ideas and creativity of the next generation."
Following display at the National Memorial Arboretum, the exhibition will head to will tour to the Dales Countryside Museum, the Creative Smart City Hub Houghton and Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve in Sunderland, and Arlington Court and National Trust Carriage Museum.
