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Bright Sparks awards ignite big ideas

Bright Sparks is the main element of the research and development strand of Gunpowder Park's new, innovative and experimental programme of work devoted to arts and the environment.

Gunpowder Park, located within the Lee Valley Regional Park at the top of Greater London, is the new regional hub of the arts, science and nature movement in the UK - described as "a physical and virtual focal point for exploration, innovation, communication and collaboration". Through residencies, research, events, installations and public programmes, Gunpowder Park provides unique opportunities for creative practitioners working in all aspects of the arts and environment.

Bright Sparks is a funding scheme for arts and design led research and development projects that explore the physical and social aspects of public open space in both urban and rural contexts. The value of each award is up to £10,000 with an average of four awards made each round.

This funding initiative, the only one of its kind in the UK, is a rare opportunity for international artists to take risks, transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and explore new or experimental materials and situations. The award is for research towards a specific outcome that is conceptually challenging rather than the completion of a final product and awardees benefit from mentoring by the Gunpowder Park team and the Bright Sparks champions. Fred Manson, a specialist in culture led regeneration and one of the Bright Sparks judges, told Sapling.info:

"Artists are not usually associated with research but the Bright Sparks programme harnesses the power of art to deal with complex issues."

As of November, six awards have been given to applicants who have significant professional experience and a strong track record across related sectors including design, architecture, landscape architecture, the environment, science and industry.

Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison of The Harrison Studio & Associates have an international reputation and a high profile as eco-artists; Gunpowder Park hosted one of a series of Green House Britain project seminars in March 2006, and their successful Bright Sparks proposal, The 30-Year NOW: A Future For The Lee Valley, is an offshoot but a stand alone piece of work that will research issues associated with the rising sea levels specific to the Lea Valley basin. Working with the Harrisons, UK environmental artist David Haley and arts management expert Chris Fremantle will engage with people in the Lee Valley to investigate how their lives will change with a rise in the sea level of between 5 and 15 metres. The project will explore how the ocean will determine much of the new form, the culture, industry and many other elements of civilisation. The results will inform the development of a series of Green House Britain sites, for which the Lee Valley exploration will become a working model. The Green House Britain project is funded by DEFRA.

In SubRural Visual, artist Emma Smith and landscape architect Sadie May Stowell will look at how to reproduce the feelings and associations triggered by people's perceptions of rural landscapes, to create spaces within urban environments that evoke the same response. Hertfordshire County Council and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority have funded this Green Heart Partnership / Bright Sparks award; the project relates to the aims and objectives of the Green Heart Partnership.

Environmental Health artist John Cockram's ambitious project explores the interdependence between human health and environmental health, debating abstract issues of ‘caring', ‘tending' and ‘health' with health care specialists and environmental professionals.

Renewable Devices for Art and Ecology is Justin Carter's proposal to develop imaginative and ambitious ideas for sculptural objects and situations to explore and expand the possibilities for sustainable living and art. The research aims to push back the boundaries of what is understood to be sustainable art, or ‘eco art', by integrating emerging technologies to create new hybrids of functional devices.

Round one awards (2 awards only) went to David Buck's Tipography, exploring the synthesis between three strands of contemporary landscapes involving the use of "waste" products, the creation of new types of landscape intervention and ways to improve man-made habitats for biodiversity. Buck's award is co funded by Knowledge East, and has special relevance to the Thames Gateway developments.

Theresa Smith's Creating an Urban Viewpoint considers the development and design of urban viewpoints. Her research addresses the nature of these structures, what it is that is currently of benefit for users and what still needs to be offered to current and prospective users.

Published on Sapling: December 2006

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