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The New American Garden designed by Washington DC-based landscape architects Oehme, van Sweden and the Limpley Stoke Valley beyond
Garden in September 2018 and renamed and relaunched the museum, with Alan Titchmarsh cutting the ribbon. This is the accomplishment of which I’m most proud, not just because of the beauty and distinctiveness of the new garden, but because it has brought the museum a larger and much more diverse audience. Supporting this growth in visitation was the complete redesign of the Mount Vernon Garden in 2017 and the creation of a Children’s Garden in 2020. We now have an extensive, award-winning horticultural offering at the museum, and we have received generous coverage in The English Garden, Gardens Illustrated, Veranda, The Secret Gardens of Somerset, Country Life – and The Bath Magazine. We have also fulfilled the three criteria that I set out for the new garden almost a decade ago: it must be American in design and planting, it must be completely accessible, and it must enhance our marvellous views into the Limpley Stoke Valley. During the past two years I have entered into the third and final stage of my directorship as the trustees and I have steered our institution through the
The Enchanted Garden of Light takes place this Christmas at the American Museum & Gardens
difficulties and unpredictability of the pandemic. This has not simply been a waiting game, however, for I took this as an opportunity to rebuild the senior leadership of the museum by appointing a new collections and public engagement director (Jan English), a new business and development director (Fritha Costain), a new estate manager (Matthew Amos) – and made various adjustments within the rest of the team. Later this year I will appoint a new head gardener. And as these shifts in leadership have been taking place, we have – particularly through the new gardens – provided a safe haven for tens of thousands of friends in the community. Our visitation is running 50% higher than in 2019 even though we were locked down at the beginning of the year; and our membership is at a historic high, with a record number of family members taking advantage of the new Children’s Garden. In December, moreover, we are introducing an ambitious Christmas light show. So what lies ahead? That rests in the hands of Gareth Thomas (our current chair, who will become executive chair in January), the other trustees, and our new
senior leadership team. But I think it is safe to say that the plans outlined below will be among their desiderata. I, for my part, will continue to support the museum as a consulting ambassador on our behalf, working closely with our American supporters even as Bath continues to be very much my home. n • The Enchanted Garden of Light is a trail of illuminations taking place this Christmas at the American Museum & Gardens. • Richard Wendorf’s next book, Printing History and Cultural Change, will be published in March by Oxford University Press. He is currently working on a critical study of the Fourth Earl of Chesterfield.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE • Renovation of our Exhibition Gallery so that we have the climate control we need to mount blockbuster shows from the US and elsewhere • Creation of new period rooms within the Manor House so that we can tell compelling stories about modern and contemporary America • Sensitive and imaginative redevelopment of our current period rooms • Continuing development of our gardens and other aspects of the estate, including an expansion of the Children’s Garden into the woodlands • Extended festivities around our distinctly American holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Halloween, with music, food, theatre, and comedy reinforcing our commitment to showcase the very best in American culture americanmuseum.org THEBATHMAG.CO.UK THEBATHMAG.CO.UK| november 2010 | january 2020
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