Yorkshire Day celebrated with ground art

CANNON Hall Museum, Park and Gardens marked Yorkshire Day with a spectacular piece of land art that combines Yorkshire pride, social distancing and their outstanding collections.

The piece which has been created by artists from the Landmark Collective has established mini picnic pods in the parklands for visitors to use at a safe distance of two metres.

At the heart of the artwork is the iconic symbol of Yorkshire, the white rose. Surrounding it are shapes inspired by objects from the Museum’s outstanding ceramics collection. The collection has recently been redisplayed as part of the Museum’s ‘Cracking Ceramics!’ project, made possible through support from the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund via the Museums Association. The new displays are available to see via a virtual tour while the Museum is closed.

Launched as part of the county’s Yorkshire day celebrations on Saturday August 1, it is hoped that the artwork will encourage people to visit the beautiful outside spaces of one of Barnsley’s best loved visitor attractions in a safe and responsible manner.

The stunning historic parkland is nearing the end of a four-year restoration project. ‘Parks for People’, which has been made possible through the generosity of the National Heritage Lottery Fund and its players, will see the landscapes returned to their former Georgian splendour.

It includes new accessible pathways, a children’s discovery area, improvements to the walled gardens and will see rowing boats returned to the lake.

Alongside this Barnsley Museums will be hosting a whole host of digital activities to celebrate Yorkshire Day which will include a Yorkshire pudding competition, a Barnsley digital jigsaw, blogs, sonnets, debates plus much more.

Cllr Tim Cheetham, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place (Regeneration and Culture) said: “Cannon Hall park and gardens is proud to be one of Yorkshire’s most beautiful spots and they get hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the county each year. Their parklands have been vital for people during the pandemic as a place to relax, reflect and unwind and we want to make sure they are a safe space for everyone to enjoy. The land art is just one way they will be doing this and Yorkshire Day is the perfect time to launch it as well as celebrating everything that is great about ‘Gods own county’.”

James Brunt, artist from Landmark Collective, said: “It is wonderful to be creating artwork once again after a difficult few months and even more so on such a brilliant project.

“Cannon Hall is such a special place and a real jewel in the Yorkshire landscape, so it is the ideal location to celebrate our magnificent county. We hope that the artwork will really shine a spotlight on the parklands but also encourage people to visit in a safe and responsible way.”