MORWENNA KING x DAWSON PARK COMMUNITY GARDENS
Morwenna reflects on her time at Dawson Park Community Gardens, Dundee, as part of the Creative Gardens Mini Residency.
THE PROJECT
This summer I've been working in collaboration with the beautiful Dawson Park Community Gardens in Dundee. As part of the Creative Gardens Project, myself and four other artists from the Art & Nature Collective were paired with five community gardens around Dundee. Funded by the Dundee Climate Fund 3.0, over a six week period I collaborated with the volunteers at Dawson Park on a variety of colourful creations, all centred around Art, Nature and Community.
WHO ARE DAWSON PARK COMMUNITY GARDENS?
Dawson Park Community Gardens are a mental health orientated greenspace run by volunteers and groups. These lively gardens provide a safe place for individuals to build confidence, resilience and community, ecouraging less reliance on social services. The greenspace is split into two key gardens/projects; Chrysalis, a private, referral-only space, and Growing Chrysalis, which opened during the Covid-19 pandemic to meet the rising demand in the area for the garden to be more accessible to the general public.
With the original Chrysalis project opening over ten years ago now, Dawson Park Gardens are well-established. The gardens host a variety of wonders to explore, including food forest, frog pond, composting area, kids playground (creatively constructed from recycled materials), tea shed, butterfly house, plants and seasonal fruit/veg sales area, fairy garden, and more!
A real hive of activity - My art workshops were just one of many activities taking place in the gardens throughout the summer, from yoga, to home-school visits, talks and craft workshops. 
WHAT WE DID?
I hosted six drop-in style art sessions, one per week, over a six week period. Myself and the volunteers worked together to create bright, colourful artworks centred around Nature, Community and Dawson Park Gardens.
I aimed to create a space that was safe and low-pressure. Volunteers could come and go as they pleased, so I tried to keepactivities simple and adaptable, trying to ensure artworks could be completed in a short space of time for volunteers who could not commit to a full session, yet remain interesting for those who stayed for longer periods.
An initial brainstorming session lead to three key project routes:
- The Rocks/Fountain Project
Adding decorated rocks to the unused fountain at the entrance to the gardens.
-The Butterfly Murals
Stemmed from an interest in bridging the two gardens (Chrysalis and Growing Chrysalis) using art. We created two large butterflies, one for each side of the fence running down the middle of the gardens.
- The Mini Murals & Mosaic
This was an opportunity to incorporate mediums other than paint (such as mosaic). We created smaller works to be displayed alongside the butterfly murals.
I brought in materials and encouraged the group to create things that were colourful and positive, and to think about what Dawson Park, and nature overall, meant to them. We also used the prompt:
"if your garden could speak, what would it say?"
(A prompt that myself and the four other Creative Gardens artists came up with as a means of uniting the five mini residencies)
THE ROCKS/FOUNTAIN PROJECT
I primed rocks, collected from the gardens, and we decorated them with acrylic paint. The rocks were then coated with yacht varnish for protection, before being added to the sections surrounding the fountain. This recieved a lot of attention from children and families when entering the gardens, which was lovely to see. The rocks/fountain project is a very accessible activity for all ages, and can continuousely be added to, evolving over time. This project allows anyone to make their mark, and leave a small piece of themselves at the entrance to the gardens!
THE MINI MURALS
I cut out small, nature themed MDF shapes (flowers, leaves, bugs, etc.). We collectively decorated these shapes to be bright and colourful; Most people used acrylic paints, and some used the opportunity to experiment with mosaic tiling. The volunteers seemed to have a lot of fun with these shapes! At the end, they were coated with yacht varnish for weather protection, and hung on either side of the fence between the two gardens, alongside the butterfly murals.
THE BUTTERFLIES
The biggest part of the project; Two large butterflies, cut from MDF, into the shape of native Scottish butterfly species; One, a Painted Lady (the species held in the Growing Chrysalis butterfly house), the other, a Peacock Butterfly (because of their beautiful, bold colours).
The symbolism of the butterfly was important in the creation of these pieces; Not only does it link to the project name, Chrysalis, but is symbolic of freedom, rebirth, and transformation, as well as fragility and beauty. The symbolism of the butterfly felt very powerful and appropriate to this transformative greenspace.
I cut, primed and painted the basic colour and shapes of the butterflies onto MDF boards. The volunteers then worked collaboratively to adorn the butterflies in beautiful patterns, drawings, and inspiring messages about nature, community and Dawson Park. 
REFLECTIONS
My experience at Dawson Park Community Gardens was very positive! I met many lovely people, and by the end of my six weeks there, I really felt like part of the community! Furthermore, I learnt a great deal about how to structure and run art workshops, as well as how to work in collaboration with others.
My practice is mostly solitary, so it was a huge learning curve for me working collaboratively. I found working with others to be a delicate balancing act; between making my mark as an artist and showcasing my skills, while allowing everyone elses unique expression to shine in equal proportions; between telling the group what to do, and letting them follow their own interests. I learned that it can be helpful to offer a starting point for ideas, rather than leaving people to start from scratch, as too much possibility can be overwhelming for some, and lead to 'plank page paralysis' - It can actually be easier to create something when your options are more limited! I found it was helpful to hear the ideas of others, let them tell me what they wanted to create, then reflect on my own about what was realistic, and narrow down what I could then offer to the whole group.
It was interesting to work with such a variety of people; A range of age groups, backgrounds, interests, and artistic experience. This made coming up with a brief to suit everyone quite challenging, and one big lesson I've learnt is that you can't please everyone. Ultimately, bringing such a variety of personalities together led to some really interesting coversations and project outcomes! It was great to see so many unique creative expressions come from the same starting point! We had lots of meaningful conversations while working on these projects, and that was a big part of what made the experience so valuable for me!
Finally, I love that this project left ideas that will continue to grow and flourish in Dawson Gardens beyond my time there. My time in the gardens was relatively short, and I could only do so much over six days, yet I've sown the seeds of ideas which will continue to be nourished by the volunteers and evove into their own unique projects over time. It is immensely rewarding to know that I have made my mark in these beautiful gardens, yet this project has been about so more than just me making art, it's all about being a part of something greater, creating something as a community, and offering your unique contribution to a truly inspiring and important space. I believe all communitites could benefit from having a place like Dawson Park Community Gardens, and would love to return someday, perhaps for Creative Gardens 2.0.