Staff at Ruda Holiday Park, Croyde, and Warmwell Holiday Park near Weymouth, are set to become the subjects of a New York exhibition following a visit from one of Britain's leading contemporary painters, Caroline Walker.
Often exploring the notion of ‘women’s work’, Caroline provides a unique window into the everyday lives of women, capturing specific spaces such as pharmacies, tailors, beauty salons, laboratories, bathhouses and modernist apartments. During her recent stays at Parkdean Resorts’ Ruda and Warmwell Holiday Parks, Caroline collaborated with the parks to go behind the scenes, observing and photographing female team members across Entertainment, Housekeeping, Catering and Beach Management, with the photos serving as the inspiration and source material for her upcoming series of paintings.
Caroline’s upcoming exhibition is due to be showcased at GRIMM gallery in New York next March. Her observations from both parks, set to feature in the finished pieces, include female team members setting up and leading the children’s entertainment, manning the dry ski slope, leading arts and crafts sessions, working in the restaurant kitchens and front of house, overseeing swimming sessions, and Ruda’s Beach Manager, Holly Robertson, leading beach cleans and activities for children and local primary school groups.
Artist 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 teams at Ruda and Warmwell for welcoming me and allowing me to experience such a wide range of exciting environments and dedicated staff.
“The highlights of my stay at Ruda 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. The highlights of my stay at Warmwell include observing the Off Road Rangers and Walker Walkers activities, High Ropes Course, and Ringos at the ski slope. I also got to go backstage at the Entertainment team’s Nashville Nights show, photographing the female Troupers doing their makeup and hair before going on stage. 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, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Caroline to both Ruda and Warmwell Holiday Parks. We employ almost 350 full-time team members across both of these parks, 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 teams celebrated in Caroline’s paintings, and we can’t wait to see the finished artwork.”
Parkdean Resorts is the UK’s leading holiday park operator, and owns and operates 66 award-winning holiday parks across the UK. The company recently achieved record results in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2024, with Warmwell Holiday Park winning the prestigious award for the fourth consecutive year.
In Parkdean Resorts’ 2024 People Engagement Survey, completed by almost 6,500 full-time employees, favourable engagement stood at 83% - up two points from 2023’s results, and a massive 15% higher than the industry average for the hospitality sector. The company also recently invested almost £200,000 to upgrade accommodation at Warmwell and announced a recruitment drive to employ 750 new staff across Devon and Dorset.
