A GRANT of £7,000 by South West Arts will see new exhibits appearing at one of the Forest's most popular attractions, the Sculpture Trail.
The money will enable Neville Gabie and other artists to work on fresh exhibits for the circular route, complementing Forest Enterprise's plan to restore some existing works which have fallen into disrepair or have become overgrown.
Among the best-known works of art on the trail, which connects the Beechenhurst picnic site and the car park at Speech House, are the towering Giant's Chair and Forest Cathedral – a vast stained glass window strung across an avenue of tall firs.
Other Forest awards are included in this latest series of grants by South West Arts under its Year of the Artist residencies programme.
They are £4,800 to artist Jude Alderson from the Sadista Sisters who will be working with community groups in the Forest do devise what is described as "an extraordinary performance" about the Forest and its people.
Metal sculptor David Gooding is being awarded £4,905 to create exciting new installations at Clearwell Caves, and £2,650 will go to the River Severn Project, a visual arts residency to be based at Gloucester Folk Museum concentrating on the fishing community bordering the river.
"Year of the Artist will be a wonderful opportunity for artists in the region to bring their work closer to a broader cross-section of people in the South West," said South West Arts chief executive Nick Capaldi.
"We hope the year will challenge people to think and talk about how the arts affect the world they live in."
In all the organisation is distributing some three quarters of a million pounds of lottery cash to 100 residencies throughout the South West in this latest programme.