Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf

Minigolf blog post about "The BEST Mini Golf Course in Venice".

Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf in Venice

Running from May to July 2015 Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf is a fully playable art-installation minigolf course in Venice.

The layout is is described as "The BEST Mini Golf Course in Venice"

While Emily and I won't be able to make it over to play this time, our friends Gareth and Lhurlyn Holmes were recently on holiday in Venice and luckily for them they were able to play the course on the trip!

Crazy Golf controversy with a Costa Concordia hole!

Lhurlyn plays tees-off on hole 4 - John Akomfrah's 'The Turkey Shoot Galactico'

  

While Gareth is a Pro-Putter it was Lhurlyn who came out the winner. by one-point. Gareth informs me that he had been playing while refreshed from a few beers. Here he is playing the 'Pleasure Seekers' hole by Candice Jacobs

Gareth and Lhurlyn both took a dreaded seven on the last hole (Ellie Harrison's 'Life Raft') as they hit their balls into the water

The EM15 project is a collaboration between artist-led organisations and institutions including the Beacon Art Project in Lincolnshire, One Thoresby Street in Nottingham, New Art Exchange in Nottingham, QUAD in Derby, Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham.

The holes in Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf have been designed by John Akomfrah, Yara El-Sherbini, Doug Fishbone, Ellie Harrison, Candice Jacobs, Hetain Patel, Lindsay Seers, Yinka Shonibare MBE and Eyal Weizman.

So, why was Mini Golf chosen for the art installation? Well, the 56th Venice Biennale called for responses to 'The Leisure Principle' - and what better way to spend your leisure time than putting around a miniature golf course.

The Leisure Principle considers the concept of tourism and trade as a metaphor to explore current global economic complexities through one of the defining principles of leisure - that of consumption - and how this consumption shapes our identity.

EM15 is a collective from the East Midlands region of the UK and aims to inspire a new generation of artists, curators and audiences, as well as representing diverse cultures and perspectives, and creating long-lasting impacts for the arts ecology in the Midlands and throughout the UK. For more information visit the EM15 website.

For more information on Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf and the Venice Biennale check out the links below.

Minigolf is a popular theme for artists, so whilst on our travels we've played a few art-installation pop-up crazy golf courses.

In 2012/13 Doug Fishbone and friends created a 9-hole Crazy Golf course called 'Adventure Land' which was playable at music & art festivals and galleries around the UK. Unfortunately we were never able to make it. Although we were at The Arnolfini in Bristol just before the controversial course arrived.

Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf course has got a great scorecard, branded pencil and button badge.

Links:
- EM15 website
- EM15 on Twitter
- EM15 on Facebook
- Venice Biennale / la Biennale di Venezia website
- Venice Biennale / la Biennale di Venezia on Twitter
- Venice Biennale / la Biennale di Venezia on Facebook
- Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf

Related blog posts:
- Art
- Gareth Holmes
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Photos courtesy of Gareth and Lhurlyn Holmes.

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