Parked I & II

Art and culture play a significant role in the garden and neighbourhood. Surrounded by a vibrant community of creatives, designers, architects and makers, our little green space has a number of art pieces that highlight this connection. In 2017 and again in 2024, the Friends of St John’s Garden, alongside artist Emma Douglas and curator Ishbel Mull pulled together several incredible artists to showcase their art in the garden for a week-long open-air exhibition.

“The beauty of bringing art into nature and public spaces is the opportunity for visitors and passersby to engage in an unexpected context.

Removing the institution and embracing the art in our everyday lives.”

- Emma Douglas, artist and curator

Katharine Maccarthy at Parked, 2017

Parked Overview

In 2017 and again in 2024, the Friends of St John’s Garden, alongside renowned artist Emma Douglas and curator Ishbel Mull, gathered several incredible artists to showcase their art in the garden for a week-long open-air exhibition.

The concept behind the Parked exhibitions is a unique contemporary outdoor art exhibition in the historical gardens of Clerkenwell. Highlighting the conversations between Art and Nature, Conservation and Creativity. Bringing celebrated artists to accessible and unexpected places.

The relationship between green space and art is an area of particular creative interest as artists seek to address issues of environmental catastrophe, nature deprivation and the potential for climate recovery.

We had the incredible opportunity to showcase the works of over 20 artists in the garden between the two exhibitions including Brian Catling, Jeremy Deller, Emma Douglas, Tracey Emin, Peter Jesse, and many more. A number of the artworks remain in the garden as moments of delight and reflection for our visitors to stumble across.

The Parked exhibitions have strengthened the identity of Clerkenwell’s green spaces, bringing visitors to the neighbourhood and showcasing artists who have a connection with the local area, supporting a community-led art event in Islington’s “cultural quarter”.

Parked I & II was curated by multi-disciplinary designer Ishbel Mull and renowned visual artist Emma Douglas, who lived in the area from the 1980s-2022 and cared for St John’s Garden for over 30 years. Her work can be seen in St John’s Garden, Fortune St Garden, Westminster Kingsway and Spa Fields, and other public locations across the UK. These works, along with the incredibly rich history of the area, already attract hundreds of visitors through cultural and historical guided walks.

If you are interested in learning more about Parked, you can follow the dedicated Instagram account here. @artparked2024