I'm asking people interested in visual art (or anyone who loves being creative really) of all abilities to help me make a sculpture using recycled materials for a local arts festival held in July 2022. I'd love it to be a people's project and have as many locals participate in the zero waste art installation as possible. There will be some guidance given how and what to build and there will an opportunity to speak with me about the project and see if you'd like to get involved in the festival further.

The overall aim is to create a giant marble run meandering through a ruined cathedral constructed from recycled card that spans the length of Watford High Street from Starbucks to the underpass (Global Buffet) as part of Imagine Watford Festival 2022.

Real and paper-crafted plants will emerge from the eroded walls where event visitors will be invited into the garden with a slogan:

“Into the garden I go, to rescue my mind and restore my soul”. The installation is the gateway to the whole event as other Imagine acts will be dotted up the high street.

Visitors will have the opportunity to handle marbles and direct them through the run, which has both non-active and interactive components. Watford Palace Theatre will provide overnight, site security and stewards throughout the event.

In the aftermath of Covid and the war in Ukraine, I wanted to create a restorative and engaging local art project that promoted childlike awe and hopefulness amidst rising uncertainty, as an antidote to fears around climate change and our physical stability. There is an unnerving theme among the zeitgeist that we are bystanders in our own future and the demise of the environment is inevitable, when in fact we are still in a window of opportunity to do great things. When life is given a chance, it thrives, like the simple weeds growing through the cracks in our pavements. As many of our institutions and lives have recently been shaken, the artwork reflects the indomitable growth and rebirth of life despite complex adversity.

Refreshments provided. Toilets and parking on site . Not suitable for children under 8 years due to tools and materials in use. Parents to supervise their own children at all times.