With most monuments in London made by men, Claire Mander envisaged the Artist\u2019s Garden as a way to redress the balance. Now, she says, it could be turned into a generic space for VIP events and cocktails<\/p>\n
Ten years ago, when Claire Mander was studying for an art history MA at the Courtauld Institute in London, she stumbled upon the neglected roof terrace of nearby Temple underground station. She found herself strangely drawn to the overgrown expanse with its stunning views of the Thames and the London Eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was dirty, abandoned and a magnet for antisocial behaviour,\u201d recalls Mander, now director and curator of theColab, an arts charity and incubator specialising in large-scale outdoor sculptures. She researched the history of the abandoned space, which was built as part of the Victoria Embankment in 1870. Before that, the ground beneath the site housed a 17th-century sculpture garden created by the Countess of Arundel.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42b8e255ce8f5b635c08c70529a025915a420e57\/957_0_3658_2927\/master\/3658.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b8679b3a9c53db1624de3b9b4a2348d3\" "\\"\u2018We")
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