Hope Lovelock Deane (MAVA) has a background in contemporary visual art and placemaking, and enjoys working collaboratively and holistically across disciplines towards the greater good. Hope’s work has focused on reconnecting people with the wonders of the natural world, for over 30 years. Hope is committed to creating and strengthening a local visual botanical language that speaks “of here”, of this place, fostering relationships between locals, visitors, growers, artists and the environment.

Hope is the Founder and Creative Director of Harvest Studio (2017), a botanical studio specialising in creating immersive experiences by transforming spaces with locally farmed and foraged materials. The work of the studio is all about connection; between people, place and the natural landscape around us.

Harvest Studio creates nature sculptures, site-specific installation artworks (immersive landscape-like experiences) and poetic (often spatial) event responses. Working across installation art, public art, garden interventions, interior design, event design and floristry, Hope and her team create wild beauty with plants, fresh and dried botanicals and mixed-media elements. Everything created is one-of-a-kind, seasonally materials-led and conceptually driven.

Harvest Studio is a holistic studio that adheres to 4th pillar sustainability principles in all it offers, for a flourishing local environment, economy, community and CULTURE. Working towards a zero carbon footprint (supported by their project to transform their cemetery and studio grounds), they are engaged locally with Lot 50-Kanyanyapilla on the bi-cultural regeneration of their site.

Housed in the first church in McLaren Vale (1843-44), the studio also offers workshops, site-tours and collaborative events, as well as locally grown materials, botanicals to order and ready-to-go flowers for sale. Their State Heritage site includes The Botanical Cemetery (active) and The Culture Garden, a placemaking and community garden initiative, transforming their public place into a more welcoming and garden-like world, with plantings linking people to the multi-cultural history of the area.

Hope is the cemetery (originally the Congregational Cemetery, 1841) & community garden (est. 2022) Curator, with family connections to her site going back 8 generations. Hope Lovelock Deane and Ruby Deane Jones (Front of House Manager), are a Mother/ daughter team, committed to regenerating and activating their State Heritage place in the centre of McLaren Vale.