As part of the Stove Network’s ‘Atlas Pandemica’ project, local artist Peter Smith is seeking local people to become ‘gardeners’ in the town.
‘Beauty in the Broken’ is a project which has been commissioned by The Stove Network as part of ‘Atlas Pandemica: Maps to a Kinder World’, which uses creative ways to chart the changes that have happened around us recently and to try and navigate the way forward into a more hopeful and shared future.
Peter has created a series of Zen Gardens that will be placed around the town and is looking for a people to volunteer to tend the gardens over the three weeks they are in situ.
Peter commented: “The project looks at the way in which Covid-19 may have broken us, but there is always an opportunity to repair in a new, beautiful way. We don’t try to hide these breaks and damage, but we repair our town and community – creating something unique and powerfully beautiful.”
“I see this project as a social ‘Kintsugi’ – a method of repairing broken things in a way that embraces flaws and imperfections – worked out through the mindful practice of rock gardens.”
The gardeners will regularly tend a set of sand and rock gardens throughout Dumfries every morning for 10-20 minutes. Rocks are placed on the field of sand and rakes are used to mark patterns and shapes into the sand. They will then be left for the day and a new design created the following day.
Matt Baker, one of the curators of the Atlas Pandemica project, commented: ‘We were struck by the beautiful simplicity of Peter’s idea – it is both a solitary and communal experience, just like the pandemic. We hope the volunteer gardeners will feel that they are doing something in a quiet and understated way that is meaningful for themselves and the people who encounter the gardens as a trail through the town.’
This opportunity is open to anyone – you do not need to have any gardening experience or experience in the creative industries. The gardens will go live over a 3-week period, from 18th January to 7th February 2021. The only requirement is availability every morning for 10-20 minutes and to be able to carry some hand tools. The project looks to include a diverse mix of people from the local community.
If you would like to volunteer or for further information, please email [email protected] by 14th December.
For more information on Atlas Pandemica, please visit www.atlaspandemica.org
