CALL OUT TO CREATE CHERRY BLOSSOM FOR INSTALLATION THAT WILL REPRESENT CHESHIRE’S CARERS

As part of the Chester Designed by Nature ‘Spring Blooms’ art trail, a Park and Ride bus will be filled with cherry blossoms to represent carers in Cheshire.

Destination Chester, who are collaborating with outdoor specialists, Wild Rumpus and Storyhouse on the curated art trail has put a call out to the community to help them meet their target of creating 1,290 blossoms. These blossoms will represent every registered carer in the city of Chester.

When complete, the stunning crochet and fabric blossoms will create the visual effect of sitting amongst a cherry blossom tree inside the Park and Ride bus that runs from the bus interchange to Chester Zoo. The Hanami Cherry Blossom Bus will launch alongside five other visual art installations and an augmented reality installation on 19 February 2022 as part of the art trail that will adorn many of Chester’s landmarks until the end of March.

The cherry blossom bus has been designed by Emma Thackham, an artist and trainee art therapist working with Andrea Jankowski and Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust’s Art Group. The Carers Art Group has come together at CrossHatch Studios in Winsford and via Zoom to make much of the blossom themselves.

She said: ‘The team are looking for support making either a fabric, or where skills allow, a crochet blossom. As sustainability is key to the project’s success, it is hoped these blossoms will be made from materials already found at home in any shade from cream to pale pinks.

‘We are confident that we will meet our target of over one-thousand blossoms to represent every registered unpaid Chester carer. Any that we make over and above that number will represent the estimated 38,500 unregistered cares in the region.

‘Through this artwork, we hope to draw attention to hard work and determination of this community which includes many children. We would encourage every unpaid carer to register for support from Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust.’

Spring Blooms is part of Chester Designed by Nature, a six-month community arts project launched by Destination Chester, with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

The project aims to embrace and explore the natural world that surrounds us through a programme of art, activities, performance, storytelling, and large-scale sculptural installations. Each installation in the Spring Bloom campaign has been inspired by various aspects of nature from honeycomb, blossom, tree roots or bird song to rewild the city.

Destination Chester, a network of the city’s tourism partners, has commissioned the installations from outdoor arts specialists Wild Rumpus.  The community team at Chester’s Storyhouse will be staging events alongside certain installations and will also run free half-term events at The Nest on Bridge Street.

Storyhouse have released a ‘how to’ guide to making the blossoms and will be running drop-in craft sessions. Details can be found at:

www.storyhouse.com/event/cherry-blossom-craft

All finished blossoms can be dropped off at Storyhouse anytime up to the 14 February.

For more details on the Spring Bloom programme, go to:

www.visitchester.com/springblooms

Or @visitchesterandcheshire on social channels.

To contact Cheshire and Warrington Carers Trust 0300 102 008

Situated at Chester’s famed cross where the four historic streets of Bridge St, Eastgate, Northgate and Watergate meet, the Crossroads Honeycomb reflects the beautiful simplicity of nature’s repetitive patterns. Expanding from a central point, the work will reflect the bustle of the hive in the city’s most popular meeting landmark. 

Artist Bex Knight is a scenographer and artist who specializes in using natural materials, demonstrated most recently by her ‘Hand in Nature’ sculpture in the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. 

Murmuration – Bandstand at the River Dee

Murmuration reflects the famed murmuration of the starlings, captured in the perfect spot on the banks of the River Dee. Near the iconic Victorian bandstand, birds will float amongst the trees so that spectators can sit on a bench and look up to the bird’s mesmerising performances.