Battersea Art Walk Runs Until the End of the Month

Sharon Freeman | Oct 18, 2023

Walking the Milburn Trail in Battersea is a nourishing experience for the soul in any season.  The natural beauty, the diverse terrain and the opportunity to have a chance encounter with the creatures that call the property home, make visiting this special place a treat for the senses. The addition of art installations has enhanced that experience by adding a surprise element, a wonderment, around the bends and over the hills on the trail.

“I’ve walked the trail many times since moving to the area eight years ago”, says Sarah Wiseman, organizer. “After I visited a display of textile art on a wooded property in Quebec, I began to think about doing something similar here.”

Sarah approached the Battersea Pumpkin Festival committee and received enough encouragement that she contacted the owner of the property, the Nature Conservatory of Canada, who gave her permission to see her vision through.

With no funding to attract professional artists, Sarah reached out to her community to see who might share her enthusiasm enough to participate by creating an art installation.  To her delight, local artists, and local would-be artists, came through.

“I have been dreaming about making a sculpture for a long time now having also visited a few sculpture parks,” says Will Freeman, a life-long Battersea resident.  “Sarah's call for participants was the nudge I needed to make it happen and I had a lot of fun imagining what I could do.”

Will’s creation is a 4m tall tornado made of rebar and grapevine.  Its situation along the path through a hardwood forest catches you off guard.  “It’s a comment on the increasingly strange weather events taking place in unexpected places around the world,” he says.

Other installations include a dragon lair, a giant wooden mobile and a bevy of beavers having a tea party.  Signage informs the viewer of the artist, materials used, and their inspiration.  

Sarah also created a powerful piece, an ode to her mother and the experience of dementia.  A poem accompanies a display of a table setting that allows you into her world for a few moments. 

“People were invited to exhibit for the day of Pumpkinfest, or, if their piece could withstand the weather, they could leave it for the month,” says Sarah.  “Seven chose to do so.”

On the day of Pumpkinfest, a quilting group from Verona showed several pieces.  There was stained glass, fabric art and carved wooden sculptures in the mix.  The youngest contributor was a drawing by 11 year old Hannah.

The trail is a loop which can be accessed across from the ball park on Battersea Rd. It comes out in the parking lot of the Battersea United Church.  Of course you can start at either end.  The art installations will be on display until the end of the month.  

Stay tuned for details about next year’s art walk and how you can get involved.