Emma Cons Gardens, Waterloo, London
Emma Cons Gardens Artwork
Year
2025
Client
Emma Coms Gardens Trust
Services
Commission Management
Locations
The Cut, Waterloo, London SE1
A site-specific permanent commission by Linder
We have been appointed by Emma Cons Garden Trust to commission an artist for a new permanent artwork as part of the public realm improvements for the benefits of residents, commuters and visitors to Waterloo.
Emma Cons Gardens is located at a historic crossroads , originally shaped by the medieval high street and later redefined by the 19th-century construction of Waterloo Road and the post-war creation of Baylis Road. Once a WWII bomb site, the Gardens were established in the 1950s as a public space by the London County Council and named after Emma Cons (1838-1912) – a Victorian social reformer and entrepreneur.
Framed by the iconic Old Vic Theatre to the south and new development at Mercury House to the north, the Gardens are poised for transformation into a more welcoming public space. A permanent artwork is proposed as a focal point for the Gardens.
Emma Cons established the Royal Victoria Coffee and Music Hall, now known as the Old Vic, transforming the Royal Victoria Theatre which was a place of ill repute. Instrumental in founding Morley College with the principles of inclusion and social justice, she became one of the first female alderman on the London County Council in 1889.
“The Gardens serve as a social and civic hub, linking The Cut to Lower Marsh and connecting with Lambeth’s rich cultural and green space network, including the nearby Southbank.”
At the heart of the project will be a landmark public artwork by internationally acclaimed artist Linder. She has designed three distinctive steel sculptures based on the Victorian bustle – once hidden, now reimagined as bold forms symbolising women’s resilience and visibility. This new bower-like installation celebrates the strength of their collective womanhood.
They honour Emma Cons, and also reference Emma’s niece, Lilian Baylis, the cultural innovator, and Emma’s friend Octavia Hill, a pioneer of social housing and co-founder of the National Trust. Three women for whom improving people’s lives by providing access to education, culture, and nature was at the heart of their work. Emma Cons and her associates worked ceaselessly to create not only what we now refer to as safe spaces, but also spaces of education, discovery, entertainment and camaraderie.
Linder said, “I was delighted and honoured to be invited to design a sculpture to endure in the Emma Cons Gardens for half a century, but even the imagination of the artist is stretched to ponder the world in 2075. I invite us all to explore how the Gardens can become a celebrant of sorts, an urban site able to cradle collective moments of joy, anxiety, celebration, bereavement and rebirth. The Gardens proudly stand at a crossroads. Within many mythologies, crossroads are seen as liminal spaces, time can become fluid as paths cross and chance meetings arise. One could say that the Emma Cons Gardens exists as a state of mind beyond everyday time and space, a site laden with future promise.”
“Her (Emma Cons) visionary leadership demonstrated how creativity and community engagement could ignite societal transformation.”
The commissioning process
Three artists were shortlisted from an invited longlist of 12 artists. The brief was for an innovative solution which will augment the landscaping or public realm with a creative artistic input which responds to the curatorial concept. Three shortlisted artists presented to a selection panel in mid April, comprising representatives from The Trust, Lambeth Council, developer, a local resident and a curator.
Linder, has developed her proposal, in collaboratation with Lambeth Council and landscape architects Farrer Huxley Limited. The selected artist was revealed at the Community Event day at Emma Cons Gardens on 4th September to mark the launch of the fundraising campaign to make the artwork a reality.
For more information on Emma Cons see here .
The proposals for Emma Cons Gardens have been informed by a comprehensive programme of community and public consultation over several years. The Emma Cons Trust is formed of members of the project Steering Group and represents several of the major local stakeholders, including The Old Vic, Morley College, We Are Waterloo (BID), Bourne Capital and Southbank and Waterloo Neighbours (Neighbourhood Plan).
For more information on the wider development project see here.