Winchester City Council and Havant Borough Council have announced a shortlist of internationally-renowned artists for the first phase of a major public art programme within the West of Waterlooville development in South Hampshire, funded by planning contributions from developer Grainger PLC.
Futurecity has been appointed to curate and manage the project in consultation with a local Arts Advisory Panel.
The artists that have been invited to submit proposals are:
The artist will be selected in September 2015 with a view to completing installation by the end of 2016.
In developing their ideas, the shortlisted artists have been asked to explore themes specific to the area such as the ancient woodland, local history and agriculture.
“Thanks to the art contribution from Grainger we will ensure that the Berewood site has real character, with interesting features to spark conversation and maybe even controversy. We believe that the artists on our shortlist will involve and excite the people who live in the development and those from the surrounding areas. The arts programme will play an important part in helping to turn West of Waterlooville into a true community.” -Winchester City Council’s Cllr Kirk Phillips, who chairs the West of Waterlooville Arts Advisory Panel
“I am pleased that Grainger are funding this project and will be looking forward to hearing the proposals from the artists in September.” -Cllr Caren Tarrant, Havant Borough Council’s representative on the panel
“Commissioning public art is a complex process and we are delighted to have FutureCity on board, as a leading consultancy with a track record of delivering a wide range of international art projects. We are certain that the art commissions will create a sense of pride of place for those living in Berewood.” -Chris Fletcher, Head of Development Delivery, Grainger PLC
The Shortlisted Artists
Marcus Coates, (b1968 London)
Marcus Coates’ practice questions how we perceive human nature through imagined non-human situations. An extensive knowledge and understanding of British wildlife has led him to create interpretations of the natural world and its evolving relationship with society. Recent exhibitions include: Station to Station a month long residency, Barbican, London, 2015; Dawn Chorus, Fabrica, Brighton Festival, Brighton, 2015; Workplace, Gateshead, 2015; The Sounds of Others: A Biophonic Line, Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, 2014; Anchorhold – Meetings with Marcus Coates, Hai arts, Island of Hailuoto, Finland, 2013; Follow the Voice, City in the City, Canary Wharf Screen, Art on the Underground, London, 2013; Vision Quest: a ritual for Elephant & Castle, London, 2012; Stories from the Lower World, South Alberta Art Gallery, Canada, 2012; The Trip, Serpentine gallery, London, 2011; Coates was the winner of the Create Art Award 2013, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Paul Hamlyn Visual Arts Award 2008 and the Daiwa Foundation Art Prize 2009. He was the Calouste Gulbenkian Artist in Residence in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, 2008.
www.katemacgarry.com | www.workplacegallery.co.uk
Heather and Ivan Morison, (b1973, Desborough & b1974 Turkey respectively)
Heather and Ivan Morison make art as an active engagement with materials, histories, sites and processes, producing sculpture, plays, photographs, installations and buildings, and site-specific projects internationally, including the establishment of an arboretum in Wales. More recently they are known for their architectural structures that relate to ideas of escape, play, shelter and refuge, the transformation of the modern city, weight and levity, solidity and transparency; the construction of which are very often part of a broad community effort. Heather & Ivan Morison have exhibited widely across UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada and the USA. Key projects include Sleepers Awake, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2014; All’s Well That Ends, Schauspielhaus Bochum, Germany, 2014; Smile All the While, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 2014; Shadow Curriculum, South London Gallery,London, 2014; Skirt of the Black Mouth, Tate Modern, London, 2012-15; Nuclear Family, National Theatre of Wales, 2013; Black Pleasure, Eastside Projects, Birmingham 2013; Anna, The Hepworth, Wakefield, 2012; Cave, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, 2012; Heather and Ivan Morison are represented by Works|Projects, Bristol, UK and Clint Roenisch, Toronto, Canada.
Lone Twin, (formed 1997)
Widely regarded as leading artists in the field of contemporary performance, Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters began working together as Lone Twin in 1997. Since then they have established an international reputation with a string of theatre, gallery and plein-air events. Key Projects include the ambitious six year series The Days of the Sledgehammer Have Gone; Lone Twin Theatre which produced The Catastrophe Trilogy – a triptych of theatre performances which toured internationally between 2006 and 2013; public projects such as Speeches and Street Dance; and live experiences for children including Cabaret Simon and Beastie. In 2010 Lone Twin embarked upon its most ambitious project to date: The Boat Project, winner of the prestigious South East commission for Artists Taking the Lead, a key project of the London 2012 Festival and Cultural Olympiad.
Wayward Plants, (founded 2006)
Wayward is a landscape, architecture and art practice based in London – an award-winning collective of designers, artists and urban growers.
Since 2006, Wayward has pioneered new methodologies in the creative use of underutilised land, transforming derelict sites into large-scale, design-driven spaces that engage local communities and inspire international audiences. Their critically-acclaimed projects include the Urban Physic Garden, a pop-up urban garden of medicinal plants built by over 200 volunteers, and the Queen’s Walk Window Gardens, visited by an estimated 8 million people.