Monumenta Romana is launched!
Via Francigena Arts Trail
At 11.am on December 8th 2021 guests gathered to launch Monumenta Romana by Charles Holland Architects on the Waldershare Estate.
The Via Francigena Art Trail is an exciting and important project for Dover Arts Development and there were many to thank: Catherine Bradley, European and Project Development Manager at Kent downs AONB, and Peter Morris the North Downs Way Manager for their trust in bringing DAD on board as their project managers for this public art project. The magnificent jury who helped decide which artists would be chosen to develop their work, Dover District Council for their support, Charlie Lewis and all the Kent Downs team for their support, Lord Guildford for making the liason with the landowner such a pleasent one, Katherine Woodward for stepping up to provide hot non-alchoholic refreshment and Charles Holland for being such a wonderful artist to work with through all the highs and the lows.
The speeches started with Peter Morris :
‘It’s wonderful to see the next outdoor artwork installation on the North Downs Way Arts Trail come to life. Monumenta Romana is absolutely beautiful and we love how it is intrinsically linked to the Belvedere Folly located on the estate and is made from timbers that have been recycled from flooring, barrels and even sea groins. It sits alongside the Via Francigena ancient pilgrimage section of the trail and was also inspired by the tokens pilgrims often shared when travelling from Canterbury to Rome. We’re absolutely delighted and would like to say thank you to everyone who has helped to make this happen including our district and EU funders, Joanna and the team at Dover Arts Development, Designer Charles and his team at Charles Holland Architects, Builder Pierre Woodward, Land owner Lord Guildford and the local community who we hope will enjoy this new place for rest, relaxation and reflection.’
Charles Holland then introduced Monumenta Romana and his team: architects Daniel Stillwell and Patrick O’Keefe and Pierre Woodward, Joe Woodward and Freddy Woodward who constructed the timber frame at their workshop in St Margarets and later installed it at Waldershare.
Charles said: The artwork refers to The Belvedere visible in the distance. An early 18th century Palladian folly designed either by Lord Burlington or Colen Campbell, The Belvedere was never finished. Monumenta Romana reimagines the absent cupola that was originally intended to adorn its roof. The two structures can be seen to complete each other.
The Via Francigena trail stretches from Canterbury to Rome. Monumenta Romana is also a reflection on the idea of artistic pilgrimage and of cultural exchange. Both Burlington and Campbell were instrumental in the propagation of Palladianism in the UK and The Belvedere can be seen as a product of the artistic pilgrimage of the European Grand Tour. Monumenta Romana has some of the qualities of a souvenir or a relic brought back from abroad.
The Earl of Guildford talked about what it means to have Monumenta Romana now on the Waldershare Estate after a random email arrived in his inbox last May!
Joanna from DAD asked: What does it mean when an artwork springs up in a field?
How does someone out walking coming across Monumenta Romana order this experience into their existence?
It is the provocation of a work of art and it speaks not in a simplistic way but to the complexity of our human-being and invites connection. It is a place both to rest and reflect, as one comes in contact with the ancient wood of the construction and wonders at the intrinsically right and timeless proportions of its open form, through and from which one can view the Belvedere Folly in one direction and the village of Shepherdswell in the other.
The importance of the Via Francigena Art Trail project for DAD lies in the quality of the art works themselves but coupled with the way these art objects will be discovered and by whom. They are not in a sculpture park or a museum but on a national trail and it will be ramblers, dog walkers, local residents, old and young, as well as the contemporary pilgrim who will have the opportunity to uncover the stories they can reveal.
Charles Holland and Pierre Woodward held the ribbon which Lord Guildford cut and Monumenta Romana was launched.
Everyone took a commemorative button home with them.
Photos: various sources
