Impact

New Audiences

Footfall to Leigh Woods more than doubled during the installation, with around 30,000 people visiting the artwork. 40% of visitors had never visited Leigh Woods before. More than 1000 people attended our events programme.

Press Coverage

BBC Radio 4 Front Row.
Bloomberg Television – 25minute documentary 
Independent, The ‘i’ newspaper, Guardian,
BBC Radio3 ‘The Choir’, BBC Radio Bristol.
DesignBoom
BBC Points West News,
Bristol Evening Post, Bristol Evening Post – Review of The Tempest
ITV,
Polski Radio
Discovery Channel Tv – Supertruckers – showing how boats were delivered to their new found homes.
Sculpture Magazine, Vol 34, Sept 2015
The Fix Magazine, CCQ Magazine
Bristol Magazine,  Coast Magazine,  Gate Report pg66,  N-Magazine,  Frost Magazine , Afte Nyne

Repurposing Boats After the Installation

At the end of the installation the boats were given away to organisations in the Bristol area. Passions were high in Iron Acton, Bristol when the town council had to decide whether their community were to find a home for the boat. Read news story.

GloriaJean   boat1

The boats are now being converted into children’s play equipment, story telling and performance spaces. One boat will even be converted into a cocktail bar!  Read about in Evening Post.  Photos of the boats in their new homes will be posted here soon.

Creating Collaboration and Opportunities

Through our Events Programme, we collaborated with the following organisations and individuals to present their work on the boats.

  • Mayfest- Tom Bailey’s Night Walk
  • Cabot Institute, University of Bristol – lectures on the climate
  • Bristol Shakespeare Festival – Butterfly Theatre performance of The Tempest. The organisation drew in additional R&D Arts Council funding for their performance.
  • Bristol Youth Choir.
  • Exultate Singers – conducted by David Ogden.
  • Sustrans – Cycle Ride event.
  • Two-Wheeled Drive-In movie night for 250 people each night.

Install process by Woven films

Unexpected Creative Outcomes

  • A children’s book called The Bristol Giants & the Severn Seas written by Oliver Rigby and illustrated by Tom Bonson follows Goram & Ghyston’s adventures and shares the story of how the boats of Withdrawn came to be in the middle of Leigh Woods, to the surprise of children across Bristol.
  • The Pill Whalers performed sea shanties on board the boats. Watch film
  • Both professional and amateur photographers from around the South West have come to take the most amazing diverse imagery, some of which has been uploaded to Flickr.
  • N-Photo Magazine used the boats for a photo shoot.
  • Various organisations including the National Trust held photography lessons at the boats.
  • The artwork was used as a backdrop for a fashion shoot, music video, album cover and as a yoga venue.
  • Amateur artists have come to draw and sketch the artwork.
  • Some amazing films have been produced about the artwork by local film makers including  Drew Cox, Woven Films and Jamie Brightmore.


25 minute documentary about Luke’s practice by Bloomberg Television. 

Creative Partnerships

Commissioned by the National Trust, but sited on Forestry Commission land, the project has enabled these two organisations to work closer together. See partners page.

Withdrawn has helped put TNAB on the map as a new, ambitious and ground breaking arts organisation.

Audience Responses

“I didn’t know anything about the project until I stumbled across the boats in the woodland early one morning. I was dumbstruck and couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing!”  – Graham Taylor

“I thought I’d managed to visit the artwork alone, until I spotted a couple, lying under one boat kissing!” – Richard

“Even though I knew the boats were there, when I first saw them I was awestruck – I felt frightened, worried and quite sad.” – Jim Matthews

Read the review by arts historian Dr Sue Tate from University of West of England.