Grizedale Arts

Grizedale Arts is a contemporary arts residency and commissioning agency in the central Lake District in rural Northern England. It conducts cultural projects locally, nationally and internationally. Its focus under director Adam Sutherland is on emerging artists and increasing public access to the contemporary arts. The agency's residency programme is financially supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Arts Council England.

The predecessor of Grizedale Arts, the Grizedale Society, was founded in 1968 by the Forestry Commission to further the arts within the Grizedale forest. It initially concentrated on theatre and the visual arts. In 1977, it established the Sculpture Project, which was noted for its siting of environmental sculptures by artists including David Nash, Robert Koenig and Andy Goldsworthy within the Grizedale Forest. These sculptures are now maintained by the Forestry Commission and are accessible to the public. In 1990, the Society was awarded the Prudential Award for the Arts. In 1999, for financial reasons, the board closed its theatre (the "Theatre in the Forest") and decided to concentrate on exploring new approaches to artistic production and exhibition.

In 2007, the organisation moved its base from Grizedale Forest to the historic hill farm of Lawson Park, overlooking Coniston Water. Once owned by John Ruskin and a working farm until the 1950s, architects Sutherland Hussey were employed to transform the farmhouse and barns into an artists' residency base, opened in 2009 by Sir Nicholas Serota of Tate. The surrounding land is being returned to productive use, and the gardens – designed by artist / film-maker Karen Guthrie – open annually under the National Garden Scheme.

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