Stowmarket Library Garden - Stitching Stowe
Place making through storytelling in the Stowmarket library.
2021
Much like the thread that binds the pages of a book, there is a thread that runs through our community, binding those who live here to the history, the story, of ‘the place’. It stitches together all our knowledge, our inspiration, our hopes, and even our differences to create a tapestry of inclusivity and collaboration. It has the power to inspire others, to weave in and celebrate all that we can create together. What better place to reflect this tapestry than our library?
This is the vision we hold for the Stowmarket community garden. Our intention is to capture and tell the stories from local people by stitching them into our design process and artworks throughout the new garden. The stories will be captured by public engagement events and told via artist interpretations using the garden as their canvas.
The vision for the garden was brought to life by the community of Stowmarket in several ways. Firstly, the project was managed by Fox Yard Studio (FYS) and Modece Architects (Modece), along with their team of Kickstart placement employees. This strong collaboration brought the artistic vision and connections of the FYS together with Modece’s expertise in place making, construction, project management and sustainable design.
The wider public participated as well in the larger part of the design process. Forums were held and and we welcomed the wider community to share their own stories of the town while also asking them how they like to enjoy their reading and what their library means to them. A selection of the stories collected now form the subject matter of the artwork on the garden walls as well as the collaboration with local artists who were commissioned through a mini competition run by Fox Yard Studio.
The public of Stowmarket also participated in painting tiles, creating bird houses and bug hotels, helped with seating construction and the soft planting of the garden.
Promotional video for the event
