Project description

The idea of making Folkestone an open air sculpture gallery was long in gestation. It was the initiative of the Creative Foundation and the appointment of a highly experienced curator that finally turned the idea into a reality.

18 Holes, 2008. Richard Wilson. Photo by Thierry Bal.

Birth of an idea

The origins of the Folkestone Triennial can be traced to an exhibition of work by Henry Moore (Kent County Council Biennial Exhibition) held at what was then known as the New Metropole Arts Centre in Folkestone in 1983. Moore had proposed that some of his large scale works should be displayed on the Leas. The offer was never taken up and was almost forgotten until the success of a Sophie Ryder’s exhibition at the Metropole in 2001. The display on the Leas of her 15-feet high bronze Dancing Hares rekindled the idea of a Folkestone sculpture park or trail.

At the beginning of 2002, the feasibility study commissioned by the Metropole Gallery and Shepway District Council for the Old Town Cultural Quarter had also asked consultants to consider ‘the development of a sculpture trail / sculpture park along the Leas with appropriate educational / interpretation facilities, which links with other public art initiatives in the area and across the Channel.’ The preferred location for this development had been imagined to be on Leas Cliff to the west of the town, as part of the Lower Leas Coastal Park regeneration scheme.  However, the consultants, Locum, found that it was ‘clear that a public art development of this type could have interesting relationships with the Creative Quarter, both in terms of a focus for the production of work which might be exhibited within a sculpture park and as another location in the town for the exhibition of work. Rather than thinking in narrow geographical terms, a sculpture park might be considered in a distributed sense through the town, with concentrations of work in more than one location’.

Drawing on experience

Discussions were re-opened with the Henry Moore Foundation and these led to a conclusion that ‘the traditional model of sculpture park with monumental objects sited within defined boundaries [might be] inappropriate for an art project which sets out to engage a whole community in a process of self-enquiry and transformation’ (Folkestone Triennial catalogue, 2008, page 8). It was agreed that the Creative Foundation should invite Andrea Schlieker, the highly experienced curator, to develop concept for an art project.

A preliminary visit convinced her that  ‘the ebb and flow of Folkestone’s fortunes over the past century, the wealth of its history, the famous names and amazing architecture suggested the place had stories to tell  . . . an ideal context within which artist could evolve a pertinent response’ (Folkestone Triennial catalogue, 2008, page 16). Her own bold response, presented at a meeting of the Creative Foundation in the autumn of 2005, was to propose a Triennial, an open-air exhibition involving new commissions from both established and less well-known artists.  These would be displayed in public spaces throughout the town, including part of the 11-acre Lower Leas Coastal Park (completed in 2006 with the help of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund). She suggested that some art works should remain in Folkestone after the event itself, leaving an ever-growing legacy of public art. Roger De Haan immediately, and generously, pledged to provide £1.5 million to support each of the first three Triennials.