Getting the public walking for museums and gardens

Chiswick House and Gardens is to be part of a new initiative aimed at getting the public to walking to raise money for local museums and gardens.

On Sunday 22 March 2015, Chiswick House and Gardens, will along with Dulwich Picture Gallery, Osterley Park and House, and the William Morris Gallery, host a three mile walk around their surroundings, hosting a range of cultural activities along the way.

Art Miles will start at 11am at the Obelisk, Burlington Lane Gate, Chiswick House and Gardens. The tour lasts approximately two hours and all participants will also receive an Art Miles bag on arrival.

• The entry fee for Art Miles if £20 for an adult, free for under-16. Please register online.

With museums under more pressure than ever before, community fundraising has become a vitally important ingredient to ensuring that local museums continue to survive and flourish. A recent piece of research, co-commissioned with the National Museum Directors Council, showed that although 90% of museum visitors give to charity, only 40% give to museums and galleries.

Clare O’Brien, Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, said: “We are thrilled to be part of Art Miles. We will be opening up parts of our heritage site not normally seen by the public, including the Ionic Temple, a wonderful folly, the newly rebuilt Melon House and the Walled Kitchen Gardens. We hope that these extra unseen parts of Chiswick House and Gardens will give our visitors an even greater understanding and appreciation of the historic importance and beauty of the House and Gardens here in Chiswick’’.

Sponsorship raised on top of the registration fee will go directly to the museum or gallery where the individual has chosen to gain their ‘Art Miles’. All proceeds go directly to the selected museum.

February 6, 2015