News: 22 March 2005
22 March 2005: Seven New Awards Announced for Artists' Regeneration Projects
Over £150,000 has been awarded in total over the past year from PROJECT to support the involvement of artists in groundbreaking new projects throughout the UK. In its latest round PROJECT has awarded over £47,000, bringing the number of schemes supported to sixteen.
The latest round includes opportunities for artists to work on a broad range of regeneration schemes, from devising an interactive game for young people for the design of a new village square in Stirling, to an eco-house project by Elsie Owusu Architects in collaboration with Sir Peter Blake in London.
PROJECT continues to attract enormous interest from around the country. The next round of awards will be in June and October this year with £150,000 available. In May a seminar will be held, aimed at the commercial development sector and will feature presentations from award recipients and those working in the sector who have experienced the benefits of working with artists at a conceptual stage. Further details are available on www.project-awards.org.uk.
Richard Simmons, Chief Executive of CABE commented:
ėThere are some very exciting projects in this round of the awards. The wide ranging schemes, from healthcare to housing, illustrate the growing recognition of the importance of involving artists in regeneration projects in all sectors of the built environment. Artistic input can inject life into a project and add value which is experienced by the architect, developer, local council and user alike. CABE very much looks forward to seeing these and the previous award winners on the ground.'
Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of Arts & Business said:
ėArts & Business is pleased to see more exciting projects, including two that have been led by architects. The private sector can benefit greatly from the creative skills of artists ń and we hope that the PROJECT seminar in Birmingham in May will inspire more built environment companies to take up the challenge of collaborating with artists of all disciplines.'
Maggie Bolt, Director of Public Art South West commented:
ėWe are delighted with the continued strong interest in the aims and ambitions of PROJECT. This round of awards demonstrates that there is a range of innovative schemes that can benefit from working with artists at the outset. In future rounds we are keen to encourage further applications from the private sector, particularly in relation to ways in which artists can become involved in new housing and settlement schemes.'
Details of Awards
Patmos Area Association, Myatts Field, Lambeth PFI Health/Housing
The Patmos Area Community Conservation Association (PACCA) was founded in 1999 as a residents' association in Vassall Ward and is now a limited company and social enterprise. The association is based within the ėmost health deprived' ward, the second worst in terms of educational achievement in Lambeth and the sixth most deprived ward nationally in the UK. It lobbied for and helped launch Vassall Vision to promote a Healthy Living Area. It is hoped that a new Health Centre will play a key role in the development of a Healthy Living Centre under a £4 million LIFT initiative. This is part of a wider £72 million regeneration of Myatts Field with a masterplan by Levitt Bernstein Architects in association with the Lambeth NHS Primary Care Trust and Lambeth Housing. PACCA aim to hold two weekend consultation events in April 2005 with artists and architects working with local residents to help document current experiences of living on the Myatts Field Estate and to profile respective views on estate development.
xsite Architects/Cobalt Studios, design/prefabricated sections for housing
The project aims to research the feasibility of realising a ėrepeatable box, plug-in living extension' as a discreet, modern living space fitted within traditional Victorian and Edwardian housing in Newcastle upon Tyne . The project brings together a range of partners: xsite architects, Cobalt Studios Ltd, the National Glass Centre in Sunderland , Northern Architecture and Commissions North. The proposed research aims to explore the viability of creating (plug-in) open-plan living within the limitations of traditional Victorian housing stock and the ėTyneside flat typology unique to the North East.' In material terms, the functional uses and limitations of glass will be appraised, together with new technologies for prefabrication and energy conservation in order to achieve a practical prototype of ėa repeatable box' capable of being marketed and commercially produced.
North Devon District Council, Barnstaple Regeneration Schemes
A lead artist will help develop the planning briefs for important sites in central Barnstaple, for example the Cattle Market, Queen Street and the Strand and also the new Great Western Bypass into the town. The capital development programme estimated is valued at over £35 million. A key merit of this application is the collaboration and involvement of members and senior officers of North Devon District Council and Devon County Council as part of a joint client working group to oversee project development in association with a professional, experienced public art consultant and with funds confirmed for this important support role. Based in a rural location this project provides an important model for other comparable local authorities regarding the value of a strategic, integrated approach to cross-council working, policy and capital development schemes.
Cookstown District Council, town centre urban design framework
An artist will work with urban design professionals Willie Miller Associates and jointly develop an Urban Design Strategy for the centre of Cookstown in Northern Ireland. Cookstown has a population of 11,000 with a district population of 32,577. It has developed its role over the past 25 years as a significant retail centre for the rural heart of the region. The project steering group is enthusiastic and willing to welcome the talents and ideas of an artist to influence and provide recommendations on urban design from an artist's perspective. The Town Strategy Manager on behalf of Cookstown District Council and Cookstown Town Centre Forum will support the artist. It is anticipated that the artist will work for a period of seven to eight weeks at the key stages of the development of the urban design strategy.
Raploch Regeneration Company, Stirling, new village square, IT Design Game
In July 2004, Raploch was granted 'pathfinder' Urban Regeneration Company (URC) status backed by funding from the Scottish Executive. The funding will create better jobs and prospects for local people through the provision of new housing, improved transport and environmental improvements. One element of the programme is the creation of a new Village Square and PROJECT funding will place an artist at the heart of the design team, working with local people on the detail of change. In addition, and using the design of the square as a case study, the artist's role will be to devise a community participation with local people and plan the development of an IT design tool - interactive modelling software. This "Design Game" will allow people of all ages to generate a shared vision for their public realm, and Raploch URC's aim is to establish a new digital infrastructure for the area which will, in time, take this process into local people's homes.
Northern Architecture beingthere.v3.NEWcastle.05, artist Laurie Halsey Brown
Northern Architecture in Newcastle upon Tyne will work with the New York artist Laurie Halsey Brown, presently based in Rotterdam, to extend on-line public debate, knowledge and experience of architecture. The project is planned to run from July 2005 to spring 2006 and will be published in four parts: a gallery installation and audio work, drawings and photographs, projections on to several architectural sites in Newcastle, a publication, CD and a net.artpiece with a pull-down menu of key living and working sites to profile contemporary ideas about architecture.
Elsie Owusu Architects, housing project, Hackney, artist Sir Peter Blake and RSA
Visualisation of the eco_lodge by Elsie Owusu Architects, 2004.
Elsie Owusu Architects has been commissioned by clients to build a new house, the eco_lodge, in London N16. Sir Peter Blake has been asked to undertake research on the archaeological, ecological and anthropological distinctions of the site and its link with the architectural design of the eco_lodge. This will include an analysis of soil samples taken from trial pits, local flora and fauna and found objects. Architecture and building design journals and the Royal Society of Arts aim to publish articles to profile and describe the artist and architect collaboration on the eco_lodge; and there is the opportunity for the project to be profiled as part of a forthcoming talks and events programme, scheduled for September 2005, in association with the artist, the RSA and Arts Council England.
For further press information please contact:
Dominique Owen, CABE press office on 020 7960 2470,[email protected],
or
Victoria Record at A&B on 020 7940 6692, [email protected],
or
Maggie Bolt, PASW on 01392 229226, [email protected]
Notes for Editors
- A seminar presented by PROJECT ń engaging artists in the built environment will take place, Wednesday 4 May 2005 at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham. To register your interest please email [email protected], visit www.project-awards.org.uk or contact PROJECT on 01392 229266.
- PROJECT is managed by Public Art South West and funded by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and Arts & Business (A&B). Between June 2004 and March 2006, it will award £300,000 to schemes, which will engage artists in a range of projects that will have a positive impact on the places in which we live. The scheme involves the arts, culture, design, education, environment, healthcare, housing and regeneration sectors in England, Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland. It supports artists' imaginative and creative contributions to the early stages of master planning, design frameworks and new building initiatives.
- CABE champions the creation of great buildings and public spaces. It is a non-departmental public body set up by the Government in 1999. Through public campaigns and support to professionals, CABE encourages the development of well-designed homes, streets, parks, offices, schools, hospitals and other public buildings - www.cabe.org.uk
- Arts & Business is the world's most successful & widespread creative network. It helps business people support the arts & the arts inspire business people because good business & great art together create a richer society. Arts & Business New Partners helps businesses try something new with the arts. Arts & Business invests across the UK in partnerships that deepen the relationship between arts and business and encourage new ways for the sectors to work together. Go to www.AandB.org.uk
- Public Art South West (PASW) is a Regularly Funded Organisation of Arts Council England South West and is recognised as one of the leading public art development agencies in the UK . Primarily serving the south west of England , its work extends beyond geographical boundaries in terms of critical thinking and application of artists' skills and creativity it promotes. It works with national and regional public and private sector organisations across Britain, and actively networks with a range of professions within public art, design and architecture. www.publicartonline.org.uk
Two further PROJECT application rounds follow in 2005 with the next closing date for outline proposals on 1st April 2005.
Further information is available from:
PROJECT - engaging artists in the built environment
Public Art South West, PO Box 189, Exeter EX4 3XL
Tel: 01392 229266; Fax: 01392 229229
e-mail: [email protected]:
website: www.project-awards.org.uk