A magical urban secret garden crafted from denim to delight kids and adults alike. Walk through the denim garden path and find roses, cacti, wisteria and dangling vines made with layers of recycled denim jeans and discover a brand new pond with koi and waterlilies all hand cut from shades of jeans.
Ian Berry’s Secret Garden has been show around the world in Musuems and galleries and this is the first time a site specific, stand alone installation has shown in the UK and will be exhibited in the Garden Museum’s central Nave space which is open and free to the public.
Ian Berry in the Secret Garden at the Garden Museum by Sam Hockley
Transforming denim which comes from cotton, a material made from plants, back into a new vegetal form, the installation will explore themes of sustainability in the textile industries and the importance of access to green spaces in the city for young minds.
As you wander through you will begin to discover some of the artwork from the young children that Ian Berry worked with in Kirklees in West Yorkshire with Shape North and find their drawings of their hopes and dreams for the future intertwined into the installation.
a part of the all denim pond by Ian Berry at Garden Museum
The Secret Garden will be viewable 13 July – 8 September, as well as during a number of family and community events at the Garden Museum throughout the summer. This will include the museum’s free community open day Neighbours Day on 14 July and the Festival of Fairytales on 11 August. An accompanying programme of activities and workshops for all ages inspired by the installation will be offered free of charge, including textile flower collage, denim rag rug, clay and felt cacti making and cyanotype printing.
Ian Berry: The Secret Garden and accompanying events are made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England.
Garden Museum - 5 Lambeth Palace Road - London SE1 7LB
16 July - 8 Sept 2024
Free Entry
About the Garden Museum
The Garden Museum explores and celebrates the art, history and design of British gardens and their place in our lives today.
Visitors will discover the stories of great gardeners through a permanent collection of artefacts and tools from gardening throughout history alongside botanical art, photography, and paintings exploring how and why we garden. Exhibitions, events, and community projects delve into art, architecture, plant science, food, sustainability, well-being and more, all through the lens of gardening.
Housed in the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, the Garden Museum contains the burial place of John Tradescant, an early gardener and plant hunter. To preserve his tomb, the Garden Museum was founded by Rosemary Nicholson, an admirer of Tradescant, in 1977. At the heart of the Museum is a sheltered courtyard garden designed by Dan Pearson as an ‘Eden’ of rare plants.