Join us at sunset on the evening of Saturday 28 May for the spectacular finale of Sanctuary Location: Miners’ Welfare Park, Bedworth, CV12 9HH Open to the public from 21 – …
In May 2022, Artichoke will present Sanctuary, a unique public memorial to commemorate the nation’s loss during Covid. Situated in Bedworth’s Miners’ Welfare Park, the temporary structure will be open for people to leave messages and mementos, providing a space for the community to unite in memory.
The intricately carved wooden structure will be created by the Burning Man artist David Best in collaboration with members of the local community.
At the end of the project, the structure will be ceremonially set alight, the burn acting as a symbol of letting go, renewed hope and rebirth.
Work begins at the Miners’ Welfare Park in Bedworth on the Sanctuary build on 27 April. The full build team will be on site from the 5 – 20 May and Sanctuary will open on Saturday 21 May.
The park will re-open on Saturday 28 May from 18:00, provided all safety checks have taken place.
Doors will open at 20:00.
There will be an accessible route to the artwork and provision for wheelchair users. A number of Blue Badge holder only car parking spaces will be made available.
Please contact access@artichoke.uk.com about your needs.
Sanctuary is being created in collaboration with the local community of North Warwickshire and there is still time to apply to get involved. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something amazing. To apply to be a build apprentice working on site, or to be a volunteer as one of our Sanctuary Guardians, who will help assist and orientate visitors, click here or get in touch with Maeve McDonnell:
You may bring photographs and mementos of loved ones, such as photographs, cards and letters to leave inside the structure to be ceremonially burned in an act of remembrance. You may also write messages on the structure itself. Please be responsible about the items that you bring and do not leave anything made of materials that may be toxic when burned, such as plastic as these will be removed.
Sanctuary is outside and open to the elements. Make sure that you are dressed appropriately for the weather.
There will be stewards on site at all times. There will also be Sanctuary Guardians, volunteers dedicated to preserving the safety and experience of visitors.
Yes. We intend this to be a family-friendly event.
Dogs on a lead are welcome to visit Sanctuary whilst it’s open to the public from 10:00 on Saturday 21 May to 13:30 on Saturday 28 May.
On the night of the burn there will be hundreds of people so please think about if it will be a suitable environment for your animal.
There is an extensive Learning & Participation programme running alongside the project which includes paid training opportunities for local people, volunteering opportunities and work with schools and community groups.
Click here to find out more.
Sanctuary is produced by Artichoke, in association with Imagineer supported by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council, Here for Culture and Royal Shakespeare Company.
We are also consulting and working with numerous community and neighbourhood, youth and youth support, employment, arts and volunteer organisations in the area.
Sanctuary artist David Best is known for his soaring temples built by the community at Burning Man in the Nevada Desert, which are burned to the ground at the end of the festival. Fire at Burning Man represents the spirit of community. The burning of these structures symbolise renewal and looking forward not back. Sanctuary in Bedworth is created with the same purpose.
Sanctuary and producers at Artichoke are committed to being as environmentally sustainable as possible and to contributing to the UN’s sustainability goals for People, Planet and Prosperity through working with the local community.
We recognise that in the face of the climate change emergency, every step must be taken to reduce emissions to as close as possible to net zero, and that appropriate mitigations are taken including using FSC certified wood, working with responsible contractors in relation to their environmental sustainability practices, and encouraging visitors to use public transport to reach the event.
Where we are not able to reduce the impact of the event, we are working with Environmental Consultants, A Greener Festival, to undertake a carbon impact assessment for the project and to invest directly in projects that absorb carbon and reduce future impact.
We are developing a policy that aims to have a long-lasting and positive impact for the local community.
We are undertaking a carbon impact assessment of the event, which will take into account all elements including the wood burned and travel for the artist and his crew. We will then invest to remove the equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. In addition, we are exploring the best ways to support environmental sustainability locally, through working with appropriate organisations to reduce future emissions and alleviate food and fuel poverty.
All wood used during construction will be FSC certified, which means it has come from a sustainably managed forest and supply chain.
Other than David Best and his crew, all other Sanctuary build and Guardian team members will be from the local area.
We are working with responsible contractors who have zero landfill policies, operate within the circular economy, which redefines the economy around principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible, and we are sourcing all materials locally to minimise transport times as much as possible.
For the duration of the project, we will use mains-powered electricity where we can, and any generators will be powered using HVO (vegetable oil) rather than diesel.
After the end of the event, we’ll work with local waste disposal companies to clear the site, recycling as much as possible.
We will be encouraging audiences to use public transport or walk or cycle to the site. There will be no parking at the site or in the streets nearby on the night of the burn. Our audiences will be asked to respect the site and not to litter. We will also ask everyone to be responsible in what items they bring to leave inside Sanctuary and avoid items made of plastic or similar that could emit a harmful gas when burned.
We aim to leave no trace and return the site to its original condition. Everyone will be made aware of the project’s environmental impact and the measures we’re taking to offset this.
