Lambeth Wilds at the Garden Museum 2019

Artist Katie Spragg was awarded Arts Council funding to deliver a project at the Garden Museum with local young carers in 2019. Her project 'Lambeth Wilds' was about the resilience of wild flowers and young people and resulted in a permanent installation of porcelain plants inside the museum.

Lambeth Wilds built on a year long relationship, exhibition and workshops delivered by Katie at the Garden Museum working with hard to reach communities. The project exists as two phases, it began with a research residency at the museum, which acted as source material for phase 2; a site-specific installation created as a permanent commission for the museum.

During her residency Katie worked with the museum’s collection, focusing particularly on 18th century botanist and Lambeth-local James Sowerby and his vision to bring an appreciation of nature to a wider audience. Alongside this she facilitated an in-depth engagement project with Lambeth Young Carers developing upon the theme of wild plants as metaphors for hope and resilience that reoccurs in her current work. The project focused on wild, opportunistic plants and the way they may be overlooked or ‘hidden’. It’s aim was to celebrate and make visible these plants and communities local to the museum that may also be overlooked or hidden within our wider society.

Katie created a limited edition book which celebrates and shares the research and stories gathered during the Lambeth Wilds project at the museum in 2019. Lambeth Wilds, a celebration of wild plants and community is available to buy here.

The animated films made by the young carers as part of the project are available to view here.