Our Work / Visual Arts / Custodians of Nature

Custodians of Nature

Project Partner: Wordsworth Trust

Artform: Visual Art

Participants: Studio Arts

Where: Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9SH

When: Summer 2022

“We must learn to live with nature, not destroy it.” 

Custodians of Nature is an exhibition created by artist collective Studio Arts currently on show at Dove Cottage.

The exhibition is inspired by Dorothy and William Wordsworth’s drive to examine and celebrate nature and wildlife. The artists were moved by the Wordsworth’s’ ambition to live alongside and be advocates for all nature; the flowers, the trees, the fish, all that lives on our planet.

The work in this exhibition studies wildlife from far away in the deep oceans, the Australian plains, as well as here, in the British back garden. All wildlife is at the behest of humankind and requires our informed appreciation and protection, as we are, after all, Custodians of Nature.

This is exhibition includes charming characters, a kaleidoscope of colour and rich artistic expression. It aims to immerse you in nature and explore the question, are you a responsible custodian of nature?

The work has been created using traditional artistic techniques that existed during Wordsworth’s time such as etching, as well as contemporary techniques currently used to create change, such as spray paint.