A park to crow over
Nov 21 2007 by Tony Henderson, The Journal
AN outdoor show opens tonight to launch a bid to make a riverside sculpture park something to crow about once again.
It is more than 25 years ago that the idea was conceived of commissioning artworks to help regenerate derelict Tyne riverbank land at Gateshead.
The park is located mainly in Pipewellgate, opposite Newcastle’s Copthorne Hotel, where slum clearances of the 1930s left the site completely devoted to industry until reclamation in the 1960s and 70s began to create a green landscaped swathe along the riverbank.
Yesterday commuters were met by human-size crows in a preview of tonight’s show, which marks the start of a consultation exercise on how the Gateshead Council riverside sculpture park can be improved.
The performance will take place in the park tonight, tomorrow and Friday between 5.30 and 6.30pm.
Titled The Adoration of the Crows, it will see artists dressed as crows sitting on their nests nearly 15ft high in the park, using drumming and lights to tell their story.
Crows were chosen because they are intelligent birds which can adapt to change quickly and the council felt these qualities reflect the aims of the riverside project.
The consultation is part of plans to encourage more people to use the park, which is bounded by the NewcastleGateshead Hilton hotel and the new urban village developments at Ochre Yards – the former Greensefield Railway Works – as well as along the River Tyne.
The exercise starts today and runs until January 16, with over 1,500 householders around the park receiving a form asking them to take part in plans for its future development.
People will be asked what they would like to see to improve the park and make it more accessible.
David Napier, cabinet portfolio holder for safer, stronger communities and culture at Gateshead Council said: “Public art in Gateshead is one of the cornerstones of our development and regeneration.”
The park contains important modern sculptures, but the feeling is that, although it enjoys a prime location on the riverside, the area can feel isolated, is little-visited and is largely unknown to the public.
But because the areas surrounding the park are experiencing major regeneration – including housing developments near Dunston Staiths, at Ochre Yards, the refurbishment of the High Level Bridge, and plans for new commercial, retail, hotel, and leisure developments on nearby sites – it is felt the park could eventually become a much bigger asset. Linda Green, cabinet spokesperson for culture, said: “Gateshead has a superb collection of public sculpture, much of it concentrated at Riverside Park. We believe this to be a major asset which many more people could enjoy.
“There are already big changes underway in central Gateshead, many of them close to the park, and we need to ensure that Riverside Park is not left behind in the regeneration which is transforming this area.
“Our new strategy for the park will help us to develop it as a focus for the local community and turn it into the visitor attraction it deserves to be.”
