Crossrail Funding Achieved for Canary Wharf
Date uploaded: February 3, 2014
Canary Wharf Group plc has agreed to part-fund a new permanent public artwork in the Canary Wharf Crossrail station, with a further £500,000 match-funded by the City of London Corporation.
The new art installation at Canary Wharf station will be part of the largest, collaborative public art commissioning programme in a generation. A leading contemporary art gallery will be appointed to work with Crossrail’s Advisory Art Board and Canary Wharf Group to commission an artist.
The Culture Line will be a permanent exhibition of large-scale art works across seven London Crossrail stations, designed in collaboration with London’s leading art galleries. It is an integral part of Crossrail’s efforts to design and build new high-quality stations and to vastly enhance areas above and around the new stations.
Artworks will be permanently integrated into new Crossrail stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel as well as Canary Wharf. It is hoped they will deliver inspiration and pleasure to London commuters for generations to come and become a destination for art-lovers world-wide.
Sir George Iacobescu CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Group plc said:“From the start, art and culture have been embedded into the design of Canary Wharf. Jointly commissioning a new, world-class artwork in the Crossrail Station with the City of London Corporation will continue our proud tradition of supporting London’s cultural community in a dramatic and innovative manner. The installation will provide a lasting benefit for the tens of thousands of people who will be using Crossrail daily to travel to Canary Wharf.”
Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said:“We are delighted to be expanding our long-standing support for Crossrail by helping to fund The Culture Line. These innovative new exhibitions will bring together renowned artists and galleries to create a lasting legacy for London. The capital needs world class infrastructure to succeed on the global stage and the Crossrail project is a fantastic example of what can be achieved if policymakers rise to this challenge.”
Terry Morgan, Crossrail Chairman said: “It is terrific that Canary Wharf Group and the City of London Corporation is making such a substantial commitment to The Culture Line. This programme will enhance London’s reputation as one of the world’s great cultural capitals. We welcome interest from the business community, both in the UK and internationally, to match fund these new pieces of art, which will be curated by seven of the world’s premier art galleries and undertaken by some of the most celebrated artists.”
Funding of The Culture Line falls outside the £14.8bn funding package for Crossrail. The City of London Corporation is providing significant support to Crossrail’s ambitions to deliver a world-class artistic legacy to London by match funding 50 per cent of the art works.
Crossrail’s Art Board is now marketing to businesses and philanthropists in the UK and internationally to secure funding for the additional 50 per cent of the artworks. Businesses will have a once in a generation opportunity to associate their brand with an iconic piece of London infrastructure and some of the world’s most famed galleries and artists.
In March 2013 Crossrail unveiled the first artwork to be selected for The Culture Line, with international artist Spencer Finch’s A Cloud Index to be built into the 2,300 square metre glazed station canopy at Crossrail’s new Paddington station. The result will create a picture of the sky in the tradition of English landscape artists Constable and Turner, and an arrangement of more than 25 different types of clouds.
Crossrail will carry over 200 million passengers per year, adding 10% to London’s rail network and bringing an additional 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commute of central London. It will link London’s key employment, leisure and business districts – Heathrow, West End, the City and Canary Wharf, and encourage regeneration all the way across the capital.
For further information contact the Crossrail Press Office on 020 3229 9552 or email: [email protected]
