Julie Dawes

Julie has worked as Events & Community Engagement Manager at The Parks Trust for the past 14 years. The Parks Trust run over 500 events in MK’s parks annually, and Julie’s job is to work with different communities and user groups to help them stage their events, and to support The Parks Trust’s volunteer team.

Julie’s favorite events are the ones where The Parks Trust has been able to facilitate communities to be able to host their own events. She mentions India Day MK for its vibrancy, its colour and the way it brings India to Campbell Park. Another favourite is the biennial MK:IF (International Festival) because it brings an array of different experiences every time it comes to the Park, a particularly memorable moment being the Fire Gardens of 2012 and a sound trail created through the Park that included the art pieces sited there.

Julie talks in more depth about the histories behind some of the Park’s art pieces including the living sculpture Circle Dance, Metropolis by Robert Koenig, Chain Reaction, the Light Pyramid which replaced the original Crows Nest beacon, and other aspects of the Parks Trust’s art collection across the city including how the pieces are maintained. Her favourite piece of artwork in the park is the MK Rose.

She mentions the work of Edna Reed, who was a pioneer of public art in the city. Edna (and the Development Corporation) envisioned Campbell Park as a sculpture garden, and two pieces of art are sited in the Park in her memory (Animals In War and War Veteran). Julie feels that it’s really special that Campbell Park is the place where Edna’s memory is represented.

She also talks about the potential future of Campbell Park with the possibility of play areas, toilets and a café in the Park, and the need to juggle its cultural, educational and  sporting uses.