Artist

Contemporary artist Annabel McCourt has been working with the charity Histon and Impington Green Spaces, otherwise known as HIGS, to create an entrance way feature. This gateway will invite pedestrians to explore this special wild and messy place, the site ‘Croft Close Set-aside’ which has been bought by the community.

The funding for the project was secured by Half Moon Creative Arts CIC as part of the last tranche of money needed to purchase the land. The grant from Thalia WB Community Fund included an element for an entrance feature
to mark the change of ownership and indicate that there is public access. The form reflects both the shape of a turtle dove egg, and the arches in the trunk of the ancient oak, both found on the site.

Site

The shrub land known as Croft Close Set -aside and Abbeyfields, Histon, is an important habitat for a wide range of species, including migratory Turtle Doves, and 180 different plant species, and has qualified as site of ‘County Wildlife Site’. It is wild and messy and it is this character that makes it such a valuable habitat. The site covers only 4.8 hectares but within that contains several different types of habitat and it is possible to ‘lose yourself in nature’.

‘Fides’

Meaning ‘faith’ or ‘trust’ is an invitation to tread lightly as humans, in a wild and messy place that is conserved for the benefit of the biodiversity that makes it special. The shrubland is particularly important of the number of insects, amphibians, and birds that rely on it.

Details

Commission: ‘Fides’ an entrance portal for CCSA

Artist: Annabel McCourt

Material: Corten Steel

Location: Croft Close Set-aside, Histon, Cambridgeshire

Client: Histon and Impington Green Spaces (HIGS)

Funding: The Thalia WB Community Fund

Fabrication and Installation: ArtFabs (Art Fabrications).