Leah Gordon & Annabel Edwards
Monument to the Vanquished Peasant (2021 – 2025)
“We wanted to take this chance to thank you all for your amazing work for, belief in and financial support for, Monument to the Vanquished Peasant. It has been an incredible journey from the first meeting … to (the exhibition at the) Herbert … As artists it has been a privilege to be able to realise the visual ideas in such an incredible space and at such a scale. But also, at the same time, the support has not been purely to enable the creation of art objects as it allows for the development of intangible skills, experience, knowledge and ideas that are gained on a journey of this nature…which are so vital and important for artistic development.
We thank Meadow Arts for this profound opportunity.”
Yinka Shonibare CBE RA
Creatures of the Mappa Mundi (2018-19)
“My approach was not necessarily a conventional exhibition …
I felt very strongly that I wanted to involve the community in the making of the work. At the time there was a lot of debate about Brexit and about immigration, so I wanted to start a conversation about immigration amongst the local communities and I wanted to do it with those creatures (from the Mappa Mundi at Hereford Cathedral).
I designed a series of quilts based on the creatures of the Mappa Mundi. Then the stitching was done by local groups … It was very much a collective effort to put on that exhibition, and when it opened, people really felt a sense of participation and ownership.
What’s great about Meadow Arts is their openness to ideas … I was given the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.”
Laura White
The Precious Clay (2018-19) and Baroque Sprawl (2024-25)
“My work is about letting go and allowing the material to lead me. That means I never really fully plan what my work is going to be. What’s really nice with Meadow Arts is the openness that Anne gives you to push your own practice. She’s an initiator with an incredible enthusiasm. She really listens … and it doesn’t feel like she’s imposing her ideas.
Meadow Art’s projects don’t compromise.”
Harminder Judge
Shakti (2013-14)
“The work I made placed a critical gaze on Kedleston, on Lord Curzon, and on the British Empire. Meadow Arts let me do what I felt was important and that is something I respect.”
Ellen Harvey
In Ruins (2019), Time Will Tell (2013)
“What drew me to working with Anne was the fact that she was open to anything. At the beginning she said, ‘come and visit … and see how the place feels to you’.
Often curators have very strong thematic underpinnings for their work, but there is a sense of freedom that Anne gives you as an artist, a willingness to experiment and to try things.
Anne has a really strong sense of the beauty of a place. She’s somebody who loves buildings, she loves history, she loves art.”
Andrew Howe
Various community engagement activities
“Meadow Arts doesn’t just work in formal galleries, it brings contemporary art to people in unexpected places. I think that challenges the artists but it also challenges people’s perceptions of the world around them.”
Jamila Walker
Various community engagement activities
“The Meadow Arts team do things differently to other organisations, they’re organised, they pay on time, they’re consistent, they’re clear and they don’t dictate. Meadow Arts is very professional and that is reassuring. You trust them and they trust us.”
Alex Hartley
In Ruins (2019), Living Ruins (2019)
“I’m often thinking: when time runs on, what will be the future ruin? Anne immediately understood what I was talking about and I think there was a click there between us.
We were on site for almost a week setting up. Working with Meadow Arts’ regular technician was great, he made the whole thing really fun. He was incredibly competent and really shouldered more than his share of the work.
Meadow Arts was fantastic to work with, very professional. Everything flowed in the way it should do – in terms of
communications and everything. I think it helped that we were very much on the same wavelength from the beginning.”
