Welcome to the Garden Gallery forum... This forum is hosted on the local discussion site - Talk Porty: talkporty.org/gardengallery

Read on for more background to the goals of the forum. 

When Big Things on the Beach first dreamed of the Garden Gallery back in 2004 we had no idea that our neighbours would respond so positively to the opportunity to host an artist and their work in their front gardens.  Today, twenty six local households are taking part in the project. Together with three new artworks commissioned by participants in our Public Art Commissioning Course and a ‘spectacular’ performance at the Garden Gallery launch on August 2nd, this means that Portobello will be hosting the work of thirty contemporary artists. Because of this success the Garden Gallery has been included in this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival alongside the Tracy Emin retrospective and other exhibitions in the city centre. We hope that this will attract numerous new visitors to Portobello throughout August.

At the heart of the Garden Gallery project is the experience of the ‘hosts’ and of the artists who are working with them to offer the public the opportunity to enjoy contemporary art in an informal setting. Already these new relationships have inspired the creation of new work for the Garden Gallery. Some of the hosts have begun to rethink their ideas about what they like or don’t like about public art and the artists have had to deal with the challenges of working outside conventional galleries to place their work in the domestic spaces of peoples’ gardens. When the Garden Gallery is open we hope that the public will also be prepared to rethink any prejudices they might have about the significance or value of contemporary public art.

This forum is an important element of the Garden Gallery and we are keen to hear from hosts, artists and the public about your experience of the project throughout the month; everything from practical issues that arise to stories of new relationships or surprising events through to ‘overheard at the garden gate’ or your own profound insights.  This is your space in the Garden Gallery project and we hope you enjoy it as a meeting place to connect with other people who share your passion to promote the power of imagination in Portobello.