The Compton Verney estate in Warwickshire has been providing visitors with an ‘art in the park’ experience for over 20 years. Alongside a permanent art collection, the venue also hosts boundary-pushing installations and exhibitions, a programme of workshops, and numerous family-friendly events. Compton Verney’s director of creative programming, Abby Viner, explains to What’s On how this month’s line-up of imaginative activities aims to blend art with nature, creativity, and all-important play…

Compton Verney is promising an August packed with fun and creative activities for all the family.
The historic Grade I listed Robert Adam mansion house, surrounded by 120 acres of Capability Brown grounds, is hosting a series of activities, exhibitions, workshops and play days throughout the school holidays.

Established in 2004, the Warwickshire visitor attraction is also celebrating being named one of just five finalists in the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award.

For Compton Verney’s director of creative programming, Abby Viner, the accolade recognises the immense work the museum & art gallery has undertaken over the past 20 years to offer attractions for everyone.
“A lot of places talk about the idea of art, nature and creativity,” says Abby, “and it really is exactly what the experience is like at Compton Verney; it’s really immersive.

“As soon as you step into our grounds from the sculpture park, where you are welcomed by art, to the wildflower meadows and the trees that are everywhere, it really is a place where you feel this direct connection between art and nature.

“And then, on top of that, we work really hard to think about creativity, and how we connect people to how you make and understand the artwork. That means it’s a really brilliant, multi-generational family day out. You can be running through the meadows, there’s outdoor sculpture, there are the collections, there are interactive activities for kids, there are guided nature or archaeology walks, there’s the café. There really is something for everyone.”

The museum houses six core collections, including 18th-century Neapolitan art, 14th- to 15th-century Northern European work, British portraits and miniatures, ancient Chinese bronzes, folk art, and the Marx-Lambert collection of popular British art. But visitors can do more than simply view the paintings and objects.

“There are engagement activities in all of those gallery places,” says Abby. “So in the Sensory Naples experience, you can smell what a volcano smells like or pick things up that are in the paintings. You can hear the music that’s being played. It’s a really immersive environment.”

In addition to the core collections, Compton Verney is this summer providing a host of additional displays and activities. Among them is Stourbridge-born artist Emma Talbot’s How We Learn To Love exhibition (showing until Sunday 5 October), which features sculpture, animation, drawing and large-scale paintings on silk.

“Emma is an international artist, but she was born in the Midlands. Her work deals with quite big themes; she makes these enormous silk paintings that are hard-hitting but also romantic.”

Emma’s work looks at the connections between human grief and joy, and the cycle of nature - themes visitors can also explore through additional events and activities.

For children, Stratford-upon-Avon authors The Brothers McLeod have written a special book for the museum; The Compton Verney Quest is inspired by their popular Knight Sir Louis series.

“It’s all about telling stories. In their book, the knight Sir Louis comes to Compton Verney, and it’s been taken over by the evil Volcano von Volare, who is trying to eat all the artworks and has kidnapped King Otter and Queen Owl. This then leads to a really adventurous exploration of the site, which will bring all the family together. It also brings families into the gallery spaces so that they can engage with the stories there and create their own narrative.”

Compton Verney also celebrates National Play Day on Wednesday 6 August with a host of events for children and the launch of the Play Wagon, a new commission from Studio Hardie.

“Will Hardie will be known to many readers from the television series George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. He’s created this Play Wagon especially for us, and the design is inspired by the architecture and the art you might see here. It will be totally interactive -  so you’ll be able to climb into it and out of it - there are blocks, a slide, and it can be moved around the site. And then children, with their imaginations, can transform it into anything they like.”

The period following Play Day will see a range of workshops and events leading up to the Big Play Weekend (Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 August), when the site will be scattered with building blocks and giant inflatable sculptures created by Ringworld.

“There will be lots of playful activities that relate to creativity and imagination. It’s about having fun, as you’re more likely to be creative if you’re having fun. Compton Verney is all about choosing what you want to do and letting your imagination and creativity run free.”

Alongside the fun, Compton Verney is also inviting visitors to dig a bit deeper, with the internationally acclaimed artwork Gilt by Hew Locke. Commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this is the first time the four large sculptures which comprise the exhibit have been displayed in the UK.

“Gilt is installed on the portico of Compton Verney - so as you walk over the bridge, it’s there. They are enormous sculptures, so you will see these beautiful glistening trophies sitting on Compton Verney. But then, if you go round the back of them, you will see they are hollow edifices and are made of fibreglass; they’re not actually these gold trophies at all! And that starts the questions. Hew’s work starts to gently prod and ask ‘So why is this place, this beautiful 18th-century mansion, here? Where did all the money for this come from? And all the objects that are in the museum, where did they come from and why are they here?’

“It’s a real coup for us to have the work and ask these questions here. It’s interesting to see the different kinds of stories Gilt starts to question when it’s put within the English country house context.”

All of this month’s activities aim to encourage people from all backgrounds to visit.

“There’s space for everybody at Compton Verney, and we’re working really hard to think about who lives in our region and how we can engage with them. We might have international artists and other conversations, but we are a place for the Midlands. We constantly think about who lives here and how we can provide something unique within the context of the Midlands.”

To find out more about Compton Verney’s events and activities, or to book workshops, visit comptonverney.org.uk

By Diane Parkes