Community Programme
Throughout the duration of the Big Art project the wider communities of St.Helens will be given a broad range of opportunities to interact with the project, record their views and get involved. This will include;
- Big Art Exhibitions at local events
- A Programme of talks and presentations
- Local Website - www.bigartsthelens.com
- Newsletters
- Volunteering Opportunities : Big Art Ambassadors
- ‘Public Art & Place’ research
- Quarterly ‘Walk & Talks’ on the Sutton manor site
- Talks with the chosen Big Artist
- Quarterly Business Seminars
- Community Study Visits
- Emscher Park, Germany
- Kielder Park
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- Liverpool
- Public Art Education Resource
- Big Art’s Little Art’ public art programme
- Big Art film programme
- Big Art Book
- Final ‘Public Art & Place’ Conference
St.Helens Big Art’s Little Art
Big Art’s Little Art programme will enable communities across St.Helens to nominate a local site, building or piece of land for a smaller scale permanent or temporary piece of public art. This programme will run alongside the larger scale Channel 4 Big Art project in St.Helens.
We are looking for individuals, community groups or local organisations to think about their local area and nominate a site which you feel would benefit from a piece of public art. The site could be an existing building, a piece of wasteland, or an open space.
You can nominate a site on your own, or talk to local people and put in an application in partnership with others. We will leave this up to you. If your site is chosen we would work with you to develop a project on your site.
You have until 5pm on Friday 28th September 2007 to complete your form and nominate your site. In early October a local selection panel will chose the successful sites on which we will look to develop a number of permanent or temporary commissions. We plan to deliver the project between October 2007 and March 2008, so bear this in mind when nominating.
Use your imagination, think of areas in your community which could do with a face lift, or brightening up. And nominate!
Big Arts Little Art Short Film Competition
The Channel 4 Big Art Project in St.Helens is looking for new film makers living or at college in the St.Helens borough to make a short and inspired film based on sites/locations chosen for Big Art’s Little Art project.
Film-makers must register for the competition, at which point they will be allocated a site/location on which to base their film. Film-makers can work individually or as a group.
You have until 5pm on Friday 26th October 2007 to register for the competition.
Films will then need to be submitted by 29th February 2008
There are three prizes in the competition;
- 1st Prize £1,000
- 2nd Prize £ 500
- 3rd Prize £ 250
Big Art’s Little Art Film Registration Forms are available for download in our downloads section.
You can also get the forms by contacting us direct, details are at the top right of this page.
Motto For A Future St.Helens
For A Future St.Helens
Introduction
Artist Alan Dunn & Writer Jeff Young’s Motto For A Future St.Helens project will see the Sutton Manor colliery site taken across the St.Helens borough to over 30 representative community groups and businesses.
Through a one hour workshop devised by Alan and Jeff communities will be asked to get involved in the Big Art project and create their Motto For A Future St.Helens. The Motto will be based around rearranging the letters which make up the words on the gates of the former Sutton Manor Colliery, namely, NATIONAL COAL BOARD SUTTON MANOR COLLIERY. Each workshop will be delivered by the Shining Lights Heritage group based in Sutton Manor Primary School and the theme of the workshops will be the transformation of areas using art and creativity.
Each resulting Motto will feature as one of 30 high impact temporary billboards hired across St.Helens between April 7 – 20th 2008.
Mock up of potential billboard and Motto For A Future St.Helens
All billboard designs will use the same template – the gates of Sutton Manor, the last remaining vestige of an important industrial past. Groups will be photographed in front of the gates and their chosen Motto superimposed onto it.
Each billboard image will also be framed and exhibited across the borough as part of a touring group exhibition. A mobile Billboard will also be used during the period.
In addition each image will be preserved for longevity in a publication that captures the process and contextualises it with critical and creative writings, alongside documentation of the billboards.
There is also the possibility that one Motto will get chosen to become “concrete” and everlasting, somewhere in St.Helens.
Options and notes
A document entitled “4000 words” will be provided, listing words that could form the basis of new mottos, which may or may not end up something like:
OUR DYNAMIC MOONLIT LAND
ASTRONOMICALLY ARTISTIC AND ROOTSY
SOCIAL, COOL AND ROMANTIC
INTERNATIONAL, SMART AND RADIANT
BRAINS, MINES AND BALLS*
CRYSTAL CLEAR BIRDCALLS ON BONNY DAYS
(* as in rugby)
Study Visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park
On Friday 21st September 2007, 30 enthusiastic pupils from Sutton Manor Primary School, the Sutton Manor Heritage Group, two film students from St Helens College, and the Big Art Community Engagement Team all boarded a coach and headed to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for our study visit. Our purpose was to get a feel for public art in all its glory.
After a quite lively journey to the sound’s of “Are we there yet?” (and that was from the driver!) we arrived and was greeted by a lovely chap called Joff from the Education office at the Sculpture Park.
He introduced the group to the work of Andy Goldsworthy, taking us around the exhibition and explaining what his work was about and how it was created from the local environment within the Sculpture Park.
The group then split into two. The children went off to the educational centre to create their own sculptures using found materials in the Style of Andy Goldsworthy.
A few comments made by the children on the day where:-
Declan – “It was good because we got to make our own sculpture out of mud and leaves”
Alex – “It was wonderful because you could see the different sculptures which Andy Goldsworthy made. I particularly liked the cone of logs which wouldn’t topple over.”
Ben – “My day was exciting and fascinating. I learned that you can make a sculpture with mud and wood.”
The Sutton Manor Heritage Group took themselves off for a walk around the park to get some inspiration of public art in a more open setting.
Comment from
Alan Roby Sutton Manor Heritage Group: I had a great day out and thoroughly enjoyed it, I thought Andy Goldsworthy is a great artist with amazing vision.
After a rather inspirational day, it was time to leave the park although many suggested they would definitely return. All in all the entire trip was extremely worthwhile and enjoyable.
Study visit to Liverpool
On Tuesday 23rd & Wednesday 24th October 2007 around 65 adults and children took part in a public art study visit to Liverpool. We stopped to see four pieces of public art:
- Anthony Gormley – Another Place, Crosby Beach
- Richard Wilson – Turning the place over, Moorfields, Liverpool
- Taro Chiezo – Superlambbanana, Liverpool
- Vong Phaophonit & Claire Oboussier – Outhouse, Woolton
The trip was extremely successful and all who came along had a really fun and interesting day, comments from the day included: “I never thought a day out visiting public art works could be so enjoyable the children had a brilliant time.
Heaven comes to St.Helens
‘Heaven’ is a free event devised for the people of St.Helens which will bring ‘Heaven’ to the town as part of the Big Art project community programme.
The public artwork by artist Leo Fitzmaurice is a huge mobile road sign which is to be transported to 52 sites across the borough during the next 52 days starting March 3rd 2008.
Each of the 52 sites were nominated by local people as part of the Big Art Little Arts project.
