Hidden Gardens, Glasgow

The Hidden Gardens, based at the Tramway in Pollokshields, Glasgow, is Scotland’s first sanctuary garden dedicated to peace.

NVA (Europe) worked with diverse communities in South Glasgow to create Scotland’s first sacred gardens in over a century.  The project transformed the derelict site to the rear of the Tramway through a large-scale, artist-led environmental regeneration project.  The Hidden Gardens has proved to be very successful and an extremely popular resource for the area.

Made possible with the help of £214,060 of National Lottery funds from the Scottish Arts Council towards.  Other funders included the City of Glasgow Council, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and the New Opportunities Fund as well as a number of trusts and foundations.

Through the Festivals of Light, at the end of 2005, the Hidden Gardens were again brought to life by a series of stunning light installations.

The festival included celebrations of Diwali, Eid-al Fitr, Advent and for the first time, Chanukah.  Linda MacDonald, Hidden Gardens resource manager said Glasgow is fortunate in having such a diverse multi-cultural community and the Hidden Gardens is proud to be part of these celebrations.  Everybody is welcome to participate in the festivities.'

In recognition of the significance of this project the Hidden Gardens has received a number of awards including the 2003 Dynamic Place Award, and in addition in 2004, the Scottish Design Awards-Chairman's Award for Architecture, the Scottish Design Awards-Public Realm Award, and a Civic Trust Award

The project was also exhibited at the 2004 Venice Biennale as part of Scotland's contribution to the exhibition, the Landforms Exhibition.