I have managed several public art and regeneration projects, developing a particular specialism in community involvement whereby participants are part of a collective design process and collaborate with artists to see their designs realised.
Olympic Deckchairs
500 new deck chairs were created for Weymouth Beach. Artists Heather Parnell, David Mackie and Becky Adams held workshops with groups ranging from nursery school children to senior citizens, with whole families signing up for weekend sessions. In all, 36 workshops were delivered involving approximately 430 participants of all ages and abilities. The themes of ‘local architecture’, ‘beach life’ and ‘Jurassic Coast’ were open enough to encourage a variety of images, which were then structured by the artists to create ‘families’ of designs. The deck chairs are now for hire.
Newstead Rd Bridge
Artist Bruce Williams was appointed from open call to design a new “Olympic’ cycle-path bridge, spanning Newstead Rd in Weymouth. Bruce worked with a local primary and secondary school as part of community-based workshops programme and some of the ideas that the students had were incorporated into the final designs.
The costs of manufacture escalated at the exact time the recession was first announced and the shortfall could not be found, so the bridge was never realised.
Photographs: Mackie, Parnell & Adams, Bruce Williams and Alan Rogers.