1. Project description
Turning a strip of wasteland along the Luas corridor in Smithfield (60 metres long, 4-8 metres wide) into an outdoor art gallery: The “Art Tunnel”.
The project is twofold, involving the realisation of the first outdoor gallery for Dublin, a landmark and community garden for the Smithfield area.
It’s a pilot scheme for regenerating wasteland in the City Centre through private funding from local businesses, private stakeholders and commercial sponsors. Built by mostly volunteers and with the support of DCC.
The art tunnel exhibits site specific installations by emerging artists and provides a platform to show art by community groups.
Native and city pioneering trees, shrubs and ground covering plants will be planted throughout the site and over 100 square metres of the site will be planted with native plants to provide an undisturbed habitat for a biodiverse wildlife.
It is gated and very well visible from the Luas and accessible as a community garden to key holders who are involved in the maintaince of the garden.
For further information and current updates, please go to:
http://www.facebook.com/arttunnelsmithfield
http://www.fieldworkandstrategies.com/landscape_architecture_collections/33?current=2
http://www.fieldworkandstrategies.com/landscape_architecture_collections/17?current=3
http://twitter@arttunnel
http://www.fundit.ie/project/funders/art-tunnel-smithfield
or contact Fieldwork & Strategies: 0857034201
The Art tunnel (60 metres) consists of 4 parts:
1. The entrance area (10 m): The narrowest bit, accessed from Queen St., will be planted up and provide a palet walkway under the existing garders supporting the neighbouring building.
2. The Tunnel (30 m): The 30 metre strip between the entrance and the platform will showcase site specific installations, build in- situ, by selected emerging artists, and (landscape) architects
3. The Platform (10 m): The art platform showcases work by community groups and is open to community groups suggestions.
2. The Wildlike habitat (10 m):
Native, hardy, pioneer planting (small trees, shrubs and groundcover) will be planted on slightly raised ground. The cut produced while building the palet path and platform will fill the ground and shape a slightly raised area, covered with topsoil and mulch and planted in. This allows privacy for the adjacent buildings with 3 windows looking onto the site, as well as a wildlike haven.
Site location
The site, 60 metres long, between 4 and 10 metres wide, is situated parallel to the Luas line on Arran Quay Terrace, just west of Smithfield market. The entrance to the site is of Queen Street.
Financing
€ 8800 was raised from local businesses ( Dice Bar, Third Space Cafe, Cobblestone Pub, Cinnamon Cafe, Pick- a – Pod, Phoenix Cafe, Doughnut & Bagel), corporate sponsorship (Bulmers) and over 90 private members of the public through crowdfunding on www.fundit.ie.
Dublin City Council- who brought the site to Fieldwork & Strategies attention have provided machinery and menhours to do the earthworks as well as donated over 200 plants. The owner of the site has given the lease for free and cleared it. Help in kind was received from the Dice Bar- who repaired the fence, paid for the insurance and The Complex who painted the fence.
Site prior to intervention
The Construction works are finalised, trees and over 400 herbaceous plants are in the ground, another 600 plants will follow in autumn. We are currently installing he first site specific art installation. The opening will be on the 24th of July.
For progress on site, please go to: http://www.facebook.com/arttunnelsmithfield or twitter: @arttunnel
2. a) Plan drawing of Art Tunnel
2. c) Photos of the platform, set up at Bloom 2011 garden show in order to promote the Smithfield Art Tunnel and to test the durability of the materials. The art work presented during Bloom financed the building of the garden, as the artists paid for exhibiting. These art pieces will not be part of the platform when reinstated at Smithfield, where the platform will provide space for temporary exhibition of art work by community groups within a garden setting.
2. b) Detail plan drawing of the Art platform, as first shown at Bloom Garden Show- where it won a silver- gilt medal. The platform will be showing work by Community groups, first show will be artwork by Ballymun library children.
First site specific installation by Sophie von Maltzan
…Questioning the formal aesthetic quality of the visual experience of the City…
While it is generally accepted that art work may speak about DECAY and can be seen as beautiful at the same time- this view does not seem to apply to the urban context. This installation is questioning this by highlighting the beauty of the site‘ s back wall specifically and of a material that is often seen in neglected urban areas: crinkly tin roofing sheets.
The boundary wall speaks about Dublin‘s urban history: the outlines of tiny dwellings that were so typical of this working- class Inner City area, the buildings usages can be imagined…
Crinkly tin is the traditional roofing material to protect dwellings not built to satisfy prenoted aesthetic requirements: Behind the visible facades of the Smithfield area many outbuildings are still roofed in that manner, reminiscent of the areas history as a cattle and horsemarket.
The installation triggers the imagination of the viewer, revealing the layers of the areas historical and recent past which still makes up it‘s Genius loci today.
It aims to clarify that “beauty“ does not only mean it‘s formal and traditional aesthetic quality of the visual experience.
The Art Tunnel is a landscape: neither static or complete- inviting ongoing formative interaction.
Sunday Times article
Source: HortiTrends News Desk
