*******PHOTO OPPORTUNITY*******<br><br>What: Launch of Newington Green Treasures<br>When: Saturday 5 November 2005, 4.30pm–6.30pm<br>Where: Newington Green<br>Who: Local poet John Hegley, Islington Councillor Meral Ece (Councillor for Mildmay and Executive Member for Health and Social Care for Adults) and members of the local community.<br><br>You are invited to send a photographer and/or a journalist. <br><br>***********************************************************************************<br><br>Bonfire Night on Newington Green will be an elegant affair featuring tea, cakes, music and light to launch the ‘Treasures’ which have been installed throughout the park.<br><br>Treasures is an ongoing artwork project that explores the beauty and history of Newington Green through sculpture, sound and text. The project has been developed by the Building Exploratory and has been funded by Islington Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund. <br><br>Over the summer, the Treasures – 11 bronze ‘talking’ sculptures – have been produced with the help of the local community around Newington Green. The Treasures reflect the changes that Newington Green has seen, representing past and present through poetry, art and memory. Created by artist Richard Tremlett, the bronze Treasures are of key images related to area’s history and culture, while the accompanying sound recordings feature the voices, thoughts and memories of the local community. The aim is that the Treasures will stay in the park for at least the next 10 years, although the sound recordings may be updated annually. <br><br>Newington Green has a significant Turkish community and the Treasures are in many parts bilingual. “Treasures is important because people can learn about where they live,” says Akil Bigli, a Turkish Cypriot community leader in Newington Green. <br><br>Cllr Meral Ece, Executive Member for Health and Social Care for Adults and Councillor for Mildmay, said: “This project is the latest in a series of regeneration works to Newington Green and builds on the council’s award-winning makeover of the green space and the area around it.<br><br>More importantly, it’s a recognition of the richly diverse community which has made its home around Newington Green over the years. Local people can feel proud of the input they have had into this unique project.<br><br>The Treasures will add to the beauty of the park as well as being informative about the area’s interesting history and vibrant present." <br><br>In addition to the Building Exploratory and Islington Council, the Treasures project has involved the Newington Green Action Group (NGAG), Newington Green Primary School and the Mildmay Community Partnership.<br>Notes to the Editor<br><br>History of Newington Green<br><br>* Henry VIII's hunting lodge was on the site of Hathersage Court and it is widely believed that he kept his concubines in another house on Newington Green, Bishop's Palace. A gold and diamond ring found in a field behind Mildmay House in about 1790 is believed to have been worn by one of Henry VIII's lady companions. <br><br>* Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) was born in Spitalfields and was an educationalist and writer. In 1792, she published her most important work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The ideas in Wollstonecraft's book caused tremendous controversy at the time. Mary Wollstonecraft also had a famous daughter: Mary Shelley, the writer of Frankenstein. <br><br>* Daniel Defoe, the son of a butcher, was born in London in 1660. From the age of 15, he attended Morton's Academy, a school for dissenters at Newington Green, with the intention of becoming a minister but he changed his mind and became a hosiery merchant instead. In 1719, Defoe turned to writing fiction. <br><br>About the Treasures<br><br>The 11 bronze ‘Treasures’ sculptures (created by local sculptor Richard Tremlett and made in an east London foundry) are of the following icons: <br>· The Unitarian Chapel – built on Newington Green in 1708. <br>· Flower – representing feminist writers (including Mary Wollstonecraft) and the artificial flower trade based in the area. <br>· Words – reflecting the area as home to celebrated poets, novelists and other writers, including Daniel Defoe. <br>· Abacus – recalling the nine school that have been located in Newington Green over a 400 year period. <br>· Bomb – representing World War 2 bombs dropped nearby and the bomb shelter that was situated under the green. <br>· Routemaster Bus 73 – the main bus route from the Green to central London. <br>· Olive branch – representing the Green as a place of Turkish Cypriot settlement. <br>· Wild boar – recalling the Green as a medieval village. <br>· Piano – referring to the local piano makers (1880-1930) and the original Jazz Cafe at number 56. <br>· Numbers 52-55 – thought to be the oldest surviving terrace in England.<br>· Ring – representing Henry VIII’s presence on the Green. <br><br>About the launch – Saturday 5 November, 4.30pm–6pm<br><br>This early evening event will be an evening of ‘tea, cakes, music and light’. <br>Over the course of the evening, everyone will be encouraged to seek out the 11 Treasures by tour guides (Building Exploratory staff, volunteers and possibly children from the Newington Green School, who have already participated in the project to date). <br><br>Visitors will be served handmade cakes by local cake-makers on huge 52-55 Newington Green-themed trays with Turkish tea or sparkling wine (the houses at 52-55 Newington Green are thought to be the oldest surviving terrace of houses in England and are dated 1658 by a panel in the main façade). <br><br>A local jazz musician will wander through the Green, recalling the events that took place on the Green when the Jazz Café was at 56 Newington Green (the original venue of the Jazz Café which is now found on the Parkway in Camden Town). <br><br>At 5pm, Nicole Crockett, Director of the Building Exploratory, will introduce the project and its background, to be followed by speakers from Islington Council – Cllr Meral Ece and head of the greenspace division, Bob Gilbert. Poet John Hegley (who was born in a maternity hospital which used to be on the south side of Newington Green) will then read one of his poems. <br><br>Another local poet, Alison Fell, has also contributed to Newington Green Treasures, contributing one of her poems which references Newington Green and is about Mary Wollstonecraft. <br><br>Staff from the Building Exploratory will be on hand to explain the project and the history behind the Treasures. <br><br>About the recent award-winning improvements to Newington Green and surrounds<br><br>Islington Council’s makeover of Newington Green recently won the Transport Practitioners’ Excellence in Urban Transport Design Award. <br><br>The project involved landscaping on the green and changes to the highway and streetscape surrounding it. The improvements made included re-landscaping the green, pollarding trees and overgrown bushes, narrowing roads, widening the footways (to 10m wide in front of the shops), and pedestrianising the end of Ferntower Road. The area also boasts new street lighting and benches, and new zebra crossings to encourage people to use the park and the pleasant shortcuts it now provides.<br><br>As well as a new children’s playground and café incorporating a ranger’s hut, the green now has 75% more grass, new timber decking seating and meeting areas, new bins, five new silver birches and 3,900 new plants. <br><br>About the Building Exploratory and its work around Newington Green<br><br>The Building Exploratory has been working around Newington Green on heritage, history and community artwork projects since 2002. This started with building memories in December 2002 when local people were asked to think about their recollections about Newington Green – both real and rumours they had heard. These consultations took place in Newington Green School, with community groups and on the street, and they have been built up into a collection of information which can be used for historical research. building memories resulted in an extremely popular guide to Newington Green, which is still available. This formed the starting point for Treasures, the latest of the Building Exploratory’s projects in the area which have taken place over 2003, 2004 and 2005. <br><br>The Building Exploratory is a permanent exhibition based at The Professional Development Centre, Albion Drive, Hackney, London E8 4ET. It was set up in 1997 to inform and educate local people about the built environment, addressing issues in history, architecture, sustainability and design. Since its opening, 70,000 visitors have explored the Building Exploratory's exhibits and taken part in workshops and outreach programmes. <br><br>Call 020 7275 8555 for more details or visit www.buildingexploratory.org.uk.<br><br>ENDS<br><br><br>Additional press contacts<br><br>Alex Cowlishaw at the Building Exploratory on 020 7275 8555 or email mail@buildingexploratory.org.uk.
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