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May 2021

Last Updated: 26/05/2021

Work starts on giant Stray artwork to remember covid dead

by Connor Creaghan

| 25 May, 2021

Currently the volunteers are measuring out the piece with red and white flags, close to the centre of West Park Stray.

Adam Long for Harrogate International Festivals.

Work started this morning on a huge art installation on the Stray to commemorate NHS staff and care workers and those who have lost their lives through coronavirus.

The piece, called In Memoriam, is set to be complete for its official opening on Friday.

Volunteers are using red and white flags to assess where the various pieces will go, close to the centre of West Park Stray.

Award-winning artist Luke Jerram designed the exhibit, which will be on the Stray until June 7. It will then be moved to Edinburgh, Fleetwood and Weston-super-Mare.

In Memoriam measures 36 metres in diameter and features more than 100 flags made from hospital bed sheets arranged in the form of a medical symbol.

This is the first in a series of installations and events delivered in the months ahead by Harrogate International Festivals, which this year celebrates its 55th anniversary.

Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals chief executive, said

“Two years ago, we were lucky enough to bring Luke’s Museum of the Moon to St Wilfrid’s Church, which was one of the highlights of that summer’s international festival, and was visited by more than 10,000 people.

“As an arts charity delivering festivals and events, we were first to close and will be the last to open, but we can’t just open the doors on our venues and go straight back to normal.

“We wanted to create something unique in Harrogate that acknowledged the last year whilst allowing us to create a safe, outdoor event for the town.

“We don’t want people to just look at In Memoriam from afar, we want people to experience it; we want individuals, families and friends to walk into the heart of it; we want them to sit under the flags and quietly reflect the events of the last 15 months.”

In Memoriam is being supported by Hornbeam Park, Harrogate BID, and Swainsons Funeral Directors.