Holiday park to star in New York exhibition

A North Devon holiday park is set to feature in a New York exhibition following a visit from one of Britain’s leading contemporary painters, Caroline Walker.

Titled The Holiday Park, the exhibition will be showcased at GRIMM Gallery in New York from March 28 to May 2 and will highlight Parkdean Resorts’ Ruda Holiday Park in Croyde.

During her stay at the park in 2024, renowned artist Caroline Walker collaborated with the resort to go behind the scenes, observing and photographing female team members across entertainment, catering, and beach management. 

These photographs served as the inspiration and source material for her upcoming series of paintings.

Scenes from the North Devon holiday park, set to appear in the finished pieces, include female team members working in restaurant kitchens and front-of-house roles, overseeing swimming sessions, and Ruda’s Beach Manager, Holly Robertson, leading beach cleans and activities for children and local primary school groups.

Caroline Walker said: “Through my paintings, I try to capture something of contemporary women’s experiences, often focusing on their working lives. I’m grateful to the team at Ruda for welcoming me and allowing me to experience such a wide range of exciting environments and dedicated staff.

“The highlights of my stay were observing the lifeguards at the swimming pool and meeting Holly, who was incredibly helpful and interesting to speak to while leading beach cleans, a pond dipping class, and a rock pooling session for a group of local primary school children. I think I have the makings of what could be a very interesting series of paintings, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Rob Warner, operations director at Parkdean Resorts, added: “It was a pleasure to welcome Caroline to Ruda Holiday Park. We employ almost 200 full-time team members, who work hard to create amazing memories for the thousands of families who visit the park each year. It’s an honour to have our team celebrated in Caroline’s paintings, and we can’t wait to see the finished artwork.”

For her series, Caroline also stayed at Parkdean Resorts’ Warmwell Holiday Park in Dorset.