Artists commissioned to produce a piece of public art in seven Warwickshire towns

County council hopes new works will help bring new trade to town centres
Artists have been commissioned to produce a piece of public art in seven of Warwickshire's towns in an attempt to boost business.Artists have been commissioned to produce a piece of public art in seven of Warwickshire's towns in an attempt to boost business.
Artists have been commissioned to produce a piece of public art in seven of Warwickshire's towns in an attempt to boost business.

Artists have been commissioned to produce a piece of public art in seven of Warwickshire's towns in an attempt to boost business.

The project is led by arts specialists Creative Giants, in collaboration with Warwickshire County Council and the region’s five district and borough councils.

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The seven towns to benefit are: Polesworth, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Bedworth, Rugby, Leamington and Stratford.

Creative Giants has worked with artists to create installations for a range of events including Glastonbury Festival and Coventry City of Culture.

The successful artists responded to a set of briefs shaped by opinions and stories about the towns, provided by people who live there.

A process of interviews and workshops to test their ideas saw the winning artist drawn from 65 contenders.

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They are being mentored by Creative Giants and are working with specialist fabrication contractors, Factory Settings, who will design, build and install a single creation in each town in late spring/early summer.

The project has been made possible by £150,000 from the county council’s place shaping fund, and £194,000 from the Government’s Getting Building Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP).

Cllr Kam Kaur, Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for economy and place - and CWLEP board director - said: “The past two years have shown us that outside spaces have never been so important. This exciting project is designed to inspire residents to visit their local spaces and encourage safe social interaction and participation. Businesses and communities are working incredibly hard to adapt to the impact of covid and this project is one of many initiatives to help support their efforts.”

Managing director of Creative Giants, Simon Vaughan, said: “It’s a powerful message to put creativity at the forefront of economic recovery and it speaks volumes of the forward-thinking mindset of Warwickshire. We’re thrilled that we have a strong group of artists and designers to work with and that they are excited to make ambitious pieces of work for each of the towns across the county.

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"This will be the spark that ignites the fire of creatively reimagining our public spaces with artists and their work front and centre.”

Helen Peters, chair of the CWLEP’s culture and tourism business group, said: “Re-imagining our town centres is one of the main goals of the CWLEP’s Strategic Reset Framework to encourage shoppers to return to our high streets. This fantastic project will play a part in that and I can’t wait to see the final results.”