Last September, plotters from the Serpentine 3 allotment site in Preston arranged a day of ‘Art on the Plots’.
The council-run site on Blackpool Road, opposite Moor Park, opened their gates on the hottest day of the year, to local creatives including potters, painters, dyers, printers and quilters, who were able to take inspiration from the gardens.
The group hope to open up their allotments again this Summer, given the success of last year’s event.
Kim Graham and Barbara Wright, who are plot neighbours, organised the day as a pilot because they wanted to show people how lucky they were to have a space which was so valued, after a few years ago the gates on the site were locked due to vandalism.
Kim and Barbara wanted to be able to show off the beauty of the gardens by giving site tours and other people access.
On the day around 20 Preston-based artists from the Big Picture Drawing Group, The Birley and artists from the allotments turned up.
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The event wasn’t funded, but took a lot of planning from the allotment community, including site representative, Keith Weston, who worked together to make it possible.
They hope to get some funding for the day this year, with the aim to commission a photographer, provide more refreshments and even some materials so everyone can do something creative.
Kim, who has had her plot since 2017, said: “It’s a fantastic community at the allotments, everyone is so close and supportive.
“We are quite a diverse group of people, people on the plots who have come from all over the world to live in Preston so everyone learns from each other because we are all growing different things.
“Everyone on site helped on the day. Our reps made sure everything was going well, they mowed the paths so that on the day it was accessible for everyone, the people on the plots came along to help put the gazebo up.”
The allotment site currently has a large waiting list, with the number of people wanting an allotment doubling since March 2020.
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