News: 23 January 2006
PROJECT schemes are featured in conference presentation and journal article
Awards made during the two year PROJECT pilot phase are generally long term investments in the design phase of major schemes which will reach completion in several years time. Schemes in the first and second rounds of awards are showing results and are being cited at conferences and in magazine articles.
At Art & Architecture Journals's conference, The Great Artistic Metropolis , subtitled 'Art in the City - Creativity, Property and Cultural Regeneration', Jonathan Davis, Director of Learning and Development at CABE, gave a presentation on the place of public art in the built envrionment. After an introduction on what value public art can add to built environments, he focussed on the approach which PROJECT promotes:
- the sharing of ideas and creativity in multidisciplinary practice and
- the integration of artists' creativity and skills into the design of the built and natural environment.
He then went on to describe three PROJECT funded initiatives:
Preston Tithebarn Regeneration Initiative where Alfredo Jaar and Charles Quick are working as lead artists with the design team and Farrell and Partners, the urban design and architectural master planners on the major redevelopment scheme in Preston city centre;
The Arterial Routes project in Belfast where artist Eleanor Wheeler has joined a collaborative visioning team at Belfast City Council to develop integrated regeneration plans for designated key roads into the city;
PLACE in which artist Ettie Spencer is working with the Hames Levack Foundation to explore themes of displacement, homelessness and refugee status through temporary works on Blackfriars Bridge and published interpretative commentary.
Art & Architecture Journal 's current issue, number 63, Autumn 2005, complements the themes of the conference, focussing on the role of artists in urban development. A section on Urban Renaissance opens with an article by Wiard Sterk providing an overview of art and the process of regeneration, renewal and renaissance. This is followed by case studies of five different models of art and regeneration, including the Preston Tithebarn Regeneration Initiative , and Reading's Artists in the City project which includes artist Marion Coutts' involvement with AMEC on the Chatham Place development which will include public and private housing, retail units and a public square.