The Channel 4 Big Art Project in St.Helens

Big Art -Dream plan approved

Planning approval was unanimously granted by St.Helens Council last night (Tuesday 9 September 2008) for a spectacular new landmark artwork chosen by a group of local ex-miners. It is commissioned by the Council as part of The Big Art Project, an ambitious public art initiative from Channel 4 supported by Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts and The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity.

Titled Dream, the 20 metres high sculpture by internationally renowned artist Jaume Plensa is to be sited on top of the former Sutton Manor Colliery, located close to Junction 7 of the M62. The work is intended to become a gateway feature for both Merseyside and Greater Manchester at the heart of the Northwest, and to symbolise the remarkable regeneration of the whole region. It will launch, subject to project progress, in Spring 2009.

Dream takes the form of the head of a girl with eyes closed, seemingly in a dream-like state. It is the artist’s response to the brief and to subsequent conversations with the ex-miners and members of the wider local community who wanted a piece that looked to a brighter future and created a beautiful and contemplative space for future generations, not least their own grandchildren, at the top of the former spoil heap. It is to be fabricated in pre-cast concrete, with a white, almost luminescent finish using a white marble/concrete aggregate mix in marked contrast to the black of the coal that still lies below.

The progress of St.Helens’ Dream is being filmed for a Channel 4 series to be broadcast in 2009. The Big Art Project seeks to inspire and create new works of public art, commissioned by communities, as well as debating the importance of art in the built environment.

The Big Art Project in St.Helens is being delivered by St.Helens Council, in partnership with the national funders. A focus group comprising ex-miners from Sutton Manor has played a pivotal role in the whole development of the project, which is being curated by Liverpool Biennial and is supported by the Forestry Commission, the Northwest Coalfield Communities Regeneration Programme and the European Regional Development Fund via the Merseyside Objective 1 Programme.