Manchester Art Gallery has officially opened its new urban garden space, the Derek Jarman 'Pocket Park'. A special garden party was held at the gallery last week to mark both Pride month and the official opening.
Located at the front of the gallery’s main entrance, the new outdoor space is the result of a partnership between Manchester Art Gallery and volunteers from Pride in Ageing - the LGBT Foundation’s programme for older people. The park draws inspiration from artist, filmmaker, activist and gardener Derek Jarman and was devised to complement the Jarman exhibition, Protest!
Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader Manchester City Council, said: "The volunteers have done an amazing job in creating an oasis of green tranquillity on the doorstep of what is one of Manchester's most popular visitor attractions. It's the perfect addition to the gallery which is otherwise surrounded by the sights and sounds of city life.
"As well as providing a new space for the gallery's community and well-being programmes and for its climate emergency work, it also provides an inspirational place for people to come together, share ideas and spend time in a quiet and uplifting place for nature right in the heart of the city.
"We hope this fabulous new urban garden at the gallery will continue to grow and flourish in recognition of the living contribution to our city of our over 50s LGBT communities, as well as being a reminder and living legacy of Jarman and his peers who fought so hard for an equal and fair society for all LGBTQ+ people."
Designed and created in association with a number of gardeners and landscape architects, as well as gallery curators, the curation of the park has been described as a “labour of love” for the group of volunteers who have been involved. David, a volunteer gardener with Pride in Ageing who worked on the project, said: "Taking part in the project with a group of other LGBTQ+ over 50s has brought me so much joy, and some lifelong friendships have formed between the volunteers.
“My mental wellbeing and my self-worth have improved as well - I no longer feel invisible as an older LGBTQ+ person and feel more connected to my community. We're all so excited to be launching the garden and sharing our creation with visitors to Manchester Art Gallery. And we hope this new green space in our city will be here for years to come."
The green-fingered group worked with the artist Juliet David-Drufayard, landscape architects from Exterior Architecture, the community team at RHS Bridgewater, award-winning garden designer Leon Davis, and a gallery curator, to create the design and planting scheme. The garden makes a number of references to Jarman including Prospect Cottage, Derek Jarman's own cottage and garden at Dungeness in Kent, where he spent the last few years of his life working and developing his iconic garden, before dying of AIDS related illnesses aged just 52 in 1994.
The plants used in the garden have all been chosen as plants that will thrive an urban environment as well as featuring some of the volunteer gardeners' personal favourite. The yellow and black structural design of the garden, with its echoes of Prospect Cottage in its yellow and black colour scheme, includes quotes within the design that reflect Jarman's writing and LGBTQ+ history.
Derek Jarman was one of the first public figures to be openly HIV positive in Britain. He had always been openly gay in his work but after being diagnosed, he took on a leading role as a campaigner against the prejudice and misinformation surrounding HIV/AIDS.
The Pride in Ageing programme was launched by LGBT Foundation in Manchester to ensure the voices of LGBTQ+ people over the age of 50 are heard when it comes to ageing policy and activity in Greater Manchester. Many of those involved in the gardening group have had their lives touched by Jarman’s activism and work.
Lawrie Roberts, Pride in Ageing Manager at LGBT Foundation, said: "It's been an honour to work in partnership with the art gallery to open this brand-new Pocket Park, which has been designed and planted by volunteer gardeners from LGBTQ+ communities in Manchester and the city region who are of the same or similar generations to Derek Jarman. LGBT Foundation exists to continue to work towards an equal and fair society for all LGBTQ+ people, which is something that activists such as Jarman and his peers brought to wider public consciousness in the 80s and 90s.
"We're delighted to be celebrating his legacy and historic links to Manchester through this project and to have created this fantastic new green space in the city centre for everyone to use and enjoy. As we all know, a gardener's job is never done, and now the garden is finished, our volunteers will be staying on to help maintain the garden through the seasons."
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