Art, exercise and escapism in nature

On a route that runs between Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford and The O2 arena on Greenwich Peninsula is London’s first dedicated art walk. Following the waterways and the line of the Greenwich Meridian, The Line takes a journey through a dynamic, urban landscape where everyone can explore art, nature and heritage for free. Its path connects some of the UK’s most diverse boroughs and features works by artists including Antony Gormley, Thomas J Price, Larry Achiampong and Laura Ford.

As an outdoor art walk, The Line has been able to remain ‘open’ over the last year, when many galleries were forced to close their doors.

Indeed, as people searched for local green spaces for exercise and escapism, The Line offered sanctuary and experienced a significant increase in visitors.

Lockdown meant events and engagement activities switched online where possible and while still possible to enjoy throughout lockdown, The Line was no different. A new, interactive website and digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app features introductions from exhibited artists, an audio guide to the heritage, architecture and wildlife on the route and a range of creative activities. These digital resources ensured that The Line could be enjoyed virtually by those who could not visit in person while enhancing the experience for those who could. The app also includes a specially-commissioned mindfulness guide to encourage people to use The Line as a space to take a moment and focus on their wellbeing.

Health and wellbeing – an important  focus for The Line – has become an even greater priority given the experience of local residents, who have been hit hard by the pandemic. Helping raise awareness of this sanctuary on their doorstep, our film with Olympic and World Champion Christine Ohuruogu (Advisory Board member and Newham resident) aims to highlight the benefits of spending time on The Line.

As the nation re-discovered its love of nature, we released ‘The Living Line’ on Bloomberg Connects – a free guide to the wildlife found on the route and a hymn to the incredible diversity of plants, birds and insects to be found in our city. 

Looking ahead

As the country transitions out of lockdown, The Line has an exciting summer ahead with our new wellbeing walks programme – ‘One Step at a Time’ – which has been developed with social prescribers to offer short, guided walks to support engagement with art and nature for improved health outcomes. This June, we will unveil a major outdoor exhibition of self-taught artist, Madge Gill (1882-1961) to reconnect her story to the local area. Madge Gill: Nature in Mind will focus on her interest in horticulture and will be accompanied by engagement activities which will inform a seminar on art and mental health this autumn.

This summer, we will also launch Visible / Invisible, a substantive collaboration initiated by The Line with National Portrait Gallery and London College of Fashion, exploring themes of identity and representation in the digital and public realms. Workshops will be delivered to Year 9 students in four of the Olympic boroughs. To address the inequality of access to the arts in East London for local young people, the project will establish The Line’s inaugural Youth Guides programme. The programme will deliver CV training for 18-20 year olds and paid work placements on The Line to develop transferable skills to improve future employability.

The Line is a key cultural resource, embedded in the landscape of East London, in areas with some of the lowest rates of participation in arts and culture in the UK. This has been a crucial year for us in deepening our connections with local communities. With the Arts Council’s support through the Culture Recovery Fund, we have been able to forge ahead with our work at a time when it can have real and lasting impact.