Press Release: Sadler’s Wells East Inspires Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023

[Jan McNulty]

Sadler’s Wells East Inspires Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023    East London-based planting designer Alexa Ryan-Mills is creating a garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 inspired by Sadler’s Wells East, Sadler’s Wells’ fourth venue due to open at Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at the end of 2023. The Sadler’s Wells East Garden will feature in the All About Plants category at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which runs from 23 – 27 May 2023. Sadler’s Wells East includes a 550-seat theatre and will be home to Sadler’s Wells’ Hip Hop Theatre Academy and Choreographic School. The venue is part of the East Bank development alongside the V&A, BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL. The Sadler’s Wells East Garden celebrates the next generation of dancers and appreciators of dance in this corner of the capital. The garden, which will raise awareness of Sadler’s Wells East, is inspired by dance and east London. Its planting echoes the layers, patterns and shapes of dance and consists of characterful trees and shrubs, which cut beautiful figures among colourful perennials and annuals. The trees Alexa Ryan-Mills has chosen for the garden are Chionanthus retusus (Chinese fringe tree), Styrax obassia (Fragrant snowbell) and Acer monspessulanum (Montpellier maple).  The manufacturing heritage of east London inspires the garden’s design and materials: reclaimed or sustainably sourced brick, timber and metal. A bent steel sculpture wends around the garden, framing different views of the planting as visitors walk, sit and even dance around the space. Its profile hints at the saw-tooth rooflines of local warehouses and factories of the industrial revolution - and of the new Sadler’s Wells East building, designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey. The garden is funded by Project Giving Back, a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effect on UK charitable fundraising.  Alexa Ryan-Mills, designer of The Sadler’s Wells East Garden, said: “I’ve lived in east London for 10 years, so I’m really excited about bringing a piece of Sadler’s Wells East to Chelsea in May. The plants are very much the stars of the show here. They echo dance - particularly hip hop - through their diverse shapes and form and how they scramble, ripple and seed about. The vision for the space is one of colour, texture and energy. “We’ve included some lesser-known plants - including some beautiful trees - that I’m sure will start up conversations at the garden, where visitors can learn about and support Sadler’s Wells East. I’m really looking forward to making the design a reality and highlighting how Sadler’s Wells is growing dance in east London and further afield.” Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Sadler’s Wells’ Artistic Director and Chief Executive said: “It is thrilling that our new venue has inspired a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a great platform to raise awareness of Sadler’s Wells East and the opportunities it presents, both for people in east London and the UK’s dance ecology, supporting artists and growing the next generation of talent. Alexa’s design is stunning, and I am very grateful to Project Giving Back for sponsoring the garden.” After the show, School 21 in Stratford will receive plants and materials from the garden for their own outside space. As a Sadler’s Wells Associate School, School 21 works closely with Sadler’s Wells to help embed arts-inspired activities into the school day. Together, they create more opportunities for students to watch, explore and learn through dance, drawing on Sadler’s Wells’ diverse artistic programme. RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from 23 to 27 May 2023 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, more information and tickets available from rhs.org.uk/chelsea       Notes to editors        About Sadler’s Wells      Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.  We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring close to 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. In 2023 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the Choreographic School and Hip Hop Theatre Academy.  Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances. Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally. Young people aged 16 - 30 can access £10 tickets to our shows through Barclays Dance Pass. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.             www.sadlerswells.com      Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media      Facebook: @SadlersWells      Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells      Instagram: @sadlers_wells      YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre                           About Sadler’s Wells East    Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2023 as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Home to our Hip Hop Theatre Academy and the Choreographic School, Sadler’s Wells East will also house a flexible theatre where we will present a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions.         Sadler's Wells East - About us - Sadler's Wells (sadlerswells.com)       About Alexa Ryan-Mills  Alexa is a planting design consultant, based in London. She provides planting design consultancy to landscape architects, architects, garden designers and developers throughout the UK. Alexa advocates for planting schemes that are unique to their project’s design. Each scheme is bespoke and tailored to the site and its story.  She has a diploma in Planting Design with distinction from London College of Garden Design.  In 2018 she won a Silver Merit award for her Beautiful Border, ‘Useful & Beautiful’ at BBC Gardeners’ World Live. This is her first RHS garden.  Alexa lives in Walthamstow, East London with her husband and son and loves exploring the city's restaurants, culture and green spaces.  Find out more: www.alexaryanmills.co.uk       About Project Giving Back  Project Giving Back (PGB) is a unique grant-making charity that provides funding for gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. PGB was launched in May 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effect on UK charitable fundraising. It funded gardens inspired by a range of good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, and will again in 2023 and 2024.  PGB will fund a total of 15 gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2023 and intends to fund up to 42 gardens at the show from 2022 - 2024. (Applications for 2023 & 2024 are now closed).  Project Giving Back was established with funding from two private individuals who are RHS Life Members and keen gardeners. They wish to remain anonymous. PGB will help UK-based good causes recover from the unprecedented effects of the global pandemic by giving them an opportunity to raise awareness of their work for people, plants and the planet at the high-profile RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  Find out more at www.givingback.org.uk     Collaborators    Design consultancy: Mim Studios https://mimstudios.com    Planting team lead: Charlotte Vaight   Tree supplier: Majestic Trees https://majestictrees.co.uk    Main plant supplier: How Green Nursery Ltd https://howgreennursery.co.uk   Hedge supplier: Big Hedge Co https://www.bighedgeco.com   Timber supplier: Saunders Seasonings https://www.saunders-seasonings.co.uk   Furniture maker: Daniel Higgins Making https://www.danielhigginsmaking.com   Lighting: Moonlight Design https://www.moonlightdesign.co.uk

[LinMM]

What a lovely idea!