A giant land artwork – the size of 4 Olympic swimming pools – has been revealed at Whitby Abbey, as part of The National Lottery’s 30th birthday celebrations.
Created by globally renowned artist David Popa, known for creating huge artworks made from natural materials, ‘The Heritage Tree’ marks 30 years of The National Lottery, and was unveiled by actor and broadcaster, Sir Tony Robinson.
The vast artwork, measuring in at 5,400 square metres – Popa’s largest and most complex piece to date – commemorates the achievements of seven Game Changers, including World Heritage UK Trustee Teresa Anderson MBE, director of the Jodrell Bank World Heritage Site, to recognise their extraordinary impact on heritage and conservation with the help of National Lottery players who raise £30 million every week for good causes.
The breathtaking installation used the renowned abbey’s vast landscape and natural pigments painted on the ground to show Teresa and the other Game Changer’s hands holding the roots of a tree.
Teresa champions cultural engagement with science and science heritage. She says that the story of science tells us something about who we are as a people. Teresa describes Jodrell Bank WHS as the next step in humanity’s relation to the sky, which dates back millennia, starting with Neolithic tombs that align with the sun, to the moon landing which captured the imagination of the world. She worked with Tim O’Brien on the case for Jodrell Bank being recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was achieved in 2019. The First Light Pavilion at Jodrell Bank was built with the help of £12.5 million of National Lottery funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the first draw in 1994, The National Lottery is celebrating 30 inspirational people – Game Changers – who have achieved amazing things across the UK in the last 30 years, with the help of National Lottery funding. The Game Changers were nominated by members of the public and selected by a panel composed of members of The National Lottery family and partners. They were selected as examples of inspiring, tenacious and committed individuals who developed and delivered National Lottery funded projects to preserve heritage and enhance science and the environment.
28 Game Changers will be revealed in September and October at four installations which will focus on an area of National Lottery funding including, the arts & film, heritage, sport and community. Teresa is joined in this first wave of Heritage Game Changers by Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of The Eden Project; Arthur Torrington CBE, co-founder of the Windrush Foundation; Chantelle Lindsay, presenter, Project Officer with the London Wildlife Trust and advocate for diversity and inclusivity in wildlife; Sandy Bremner, convener for the National Parks Authority; Lisa Power MBE, trailblazer for LGBTQIA+ rights and Pride Cymru volunteer; and Heidi McIlvenny, project leader for Ulster Wildlife’s Sea Deep initiative until June 2022.