Tunbridge Wells

This commission was won in 2021 through an open global competition. Catriona Rowbotham was one of seven artists chosen to enhance a new cultural and community building through their artworks. The competition brief was complex in many ways, asking for a ‘curated courtyard’ – a flexible arrangement of planters to be placed in a part shaded paved courtyard space that reflected the history of Tunbridge Wells and its place in Kent. It was to provide pollinator friendly planting, to be used as a learning space for pollinator workshops, drawing classes and gardening classes and to respond to the arrangement of the new building and other artworks. These include a new café space, metal courtyard gates, sculptural drinking fountain and wall art. The brief also asked that the artists worked with local community groups to produce the artwork and provided a detailed breakdown of how the fixed and given budget would be spent. My response was to divide the courtyard into three zones; The Orchard, The Hop Terrace and the Woodland Contemplation Area. Next to the gates, The Orchard reflects Kent’s rich heritage as the Garden of England with apple trees in large black planters to tie in with the metal gates, and mobile planters on castors around them, filled with wildflowers and herbs. The Hop Terrace leads out from the café in the sunniest part of the courtyard. Here, planters with hop poles have hops climbing up them as well as other colourful companion planting. The Woodland Contemplation Area is in the shadiest part of the site and provides quieter seating areas next to the wall art. Planters incorporating built in benches are filled with woodland shrubs and perennials such as Dogwood, ferns and sweet violets reflecting Kent’s ancient woodlands. Before winning the competition Catriona approached Sherwood Men’s Shed to build the timber planters and The Monday Growing Group run by Kent High Weald Partnership, who use their allotment space to benefit the group’s mental health. Catriona worked with both groups during the project, undertaking detailed collaboration with Men’s Shed who manufactured the benches as well as planters and visiting the Monday Growing Group who are growing some plants from seed. The new building opened in April 2022 and houses a museum, gallery and library as well as providing spaces to register births and deaths and access other council services. Due to the careful and inventive commissioning and curation the building and its courtyard already feel like a vibrant part of the community.