CREATIVE individuals are being invited to contribute towards a new art installation at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Guiding Lights – Canopy of a Thousand Dreams will feature 1,000 hand-crafted leaves made by the public and local schoolchildren attached to an indoor tree sculpture.
As well as being available throughout the day, the installation will also form part of the Illuminated Arboretum trail later this year.
People of all ages are being encouraged to craft leaves using a variety of materials and then post them to the arboretum for inclusion. They can be knitted, crocheted, embroidered, or simply decorated in any natural leaf shade – green, brown, orange or yellow.
Rachel Smith, head of participation and learning at the arboretum, said:
“These handmade leaves will symbolise the pledges we make as individuals for our future, reflecting on how we can live and dream as we do because of those that have served and sacrificed on behalf of the nation.
“The tree they will be attached to will form the centrepiece of our new Guiding Lights exhibition that showcases creative works produced through our 2024 learning and participation programmes that are helping us pass the baton of Remembrance to the next generation.”
Designs should be double-sided as they may be visible from both sides and from many different angles. Permitted to be a maximum of 30cm in length, the leaves can be of any variety, and multiple entries per person are welcome. The deadline is 23rd November, with submissions able to be hand delivered or posted to Canopy of a Thousand Dreams, National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire, DE13 7AR.
The Guiding Lights exhibition will be open 6th December to 31st January.
Details of tickets to Illuminated Arboretum are available here.
