City and Country School’s Minigolf hole 2010
Minigolf hole rendering for The Golf Between Us Is Small
The 2010 Figment MiniGolf Hole Project from City and Country School – “The Golf between us is Small”
Who: City & Country School (cityandcountry.org) teachers Maggie Ens, Kathryn O’Connor and Ian Klapper, and the students, parents and staff at the City and Country School (C&C) in New York.
What: The C&C hole was inspired by the wee Scottish Island of Gigha and FIGMENT’s theme “World’s Fair.” Our golf ball route tracked Scottish historical sites and included stones from the actual Island of Gigha, sent by the students and teachers at the only school there. BBC told the story.
The hole stayed up from June to October and was played by over 200,000 people.
Timeline and process
February – We submitted a 2-page proposal to FIGMENT including the story behind our design and an Adobe Illustrator sketch of the design.
March – FIGMENT chose an experienced curator to actively guide and advise the school on further design and the actu
al building of the hole.
March/April – FIGMENT helped us find materials through Build It Green such as part of the Sex and the City movie set which became our frame. FIGMENT also helped us get donated paint from MOMA.
April/May – Students created some of the artwork during school art class, but more was done after and out of school. The teachers and parents organized 3 half day “Glue It, Build It, Paint It” open workshops/playdates after-school and on weekends to build the hole. The parents rallied helpers, including a volunteer to oversee construction.
June – The final Sunday workshop (63 people) was held on Governors Island to install the hole.
Outcomes
Community Building
City & Country School used the FIGMENT philosophy of participatory art to attract its community to the project. Students, parents, friends, alumni, teachers and staff all participated in the project. C&C has 460 students (ages 2-13). All in all, 168 students, families, friends and staff were part of this project. “It was a real community builder,” says Jimm Meloy, parent coordinator from C & C.
Creative Expression
For the students, they got to freely express themselves and take pride in a real live art project on a firm timeline. The student newspaper wrote a 3 page article on it.
For the parents, they had an opportunity to actively engage with their children and their teachers in a collaborative art project.
For the teachers and staff at City & Country School, they rallied a community spirit to create and engage.
For more information on the C&C approach or advice on kick-starting your school, after-school or out-of-school project, contact C&C parent Jimm Meloy: jimm@kidcityny.com.
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