Three separate public art installations costing almost 1m in Londonderry have malfunctioned over the past two years, it has emerged.
One of the three installations is Ireland's largest public art project and is still not working a year after it was launched. The 800,000 Mute Meadow project is one of a trio of major public art pieces involving illuminations along the banks of the River Foyle which are no longer operational. Questions are being asked about why the public has been literally left in the dark over what is going on with the projects.
Derry's regeneration company Ilex has joint responsibility with Derry City Council and the Arts Council for the Mute Meadow at Ebrington.
Ilex has confirmed the project been plagued by problems over the past year involving power fluctuations affecting software which runs the artwork.
Derry City Council meanwhile has responsibility with Sustrans for maintaining the 2005 Third Bridge project, situated on dual sites at Prehen and Foyle Road.
It was unclear yesterday how much had been spent on the artwork.
The local authority also went into partnership with the Western Health Trust for the 26,000 Gransha Beacon project which was twinned with a second light installation at Tower Museum.
Both of the latter — also installed in 2005 — were supposed to light up the night sky.
The Gransha beacon has now been broken for two years.
Ilex director of communications Mo Durkan said all three bodies involved with Mute Meadow were working together to sort out the issues.
Ilex said they could not give a date for when the project will be fully functioning but said they hoped to have it up and running “way before 2013” and Derry’s City of Culture year.
A spokeswoman for Derry City Council meanwhile said that they and the Western Trust have been trying to address the issues at Gransha and the Tower Museum since April and hope to have the installations fully reinstated by 2013.
She also confirmed that work was being done to fix the Third Bridge project, funded by the Department Culture Arts and Leisure, by the end of this week.
Mute meadows
Mute Meadows was to be a defining literal and metaphorical stake in the ground showing Derry as a world-class city.
The mammoth lighting project was launched amid much fanfare a year ago during the Peace Bridge opening celebrations. Within days, however, the lights had gone out.
Its 40 pairs of steel columns slope down from the former parade ground at Ebrington to the banks of the River Foyle.
The 800,000 artwork’s columns range in height from six to 10 metres and are supposed to light up in colours based on the stained glass windows at the Guildhall. It was created by Turner Prize nominee Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier.
The third bridge
Artist Noah Rose developed the artwork along a new cycle and pathway route stretching from Prehen on the east bank of the Foyle across the Craigavon Bridge and over to the Foyle Road area in the west.
The art work is in two halves sited on opposite river banks. Two viewing structures made from a 120-year-old disused railway foot-bridge are symbolically cut in half.
At night the empty span is connected by a laser light of virtual colours, a virtual bridge to symbolise the uniting of divided halves. The project, installed in 2005, was supported by Derry County Council, Arts Council Northern Ireland, National Lottery Award, Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (Creativity Seed Fund), and Education for Mutual Understanding.
The gransha light beacon
The Gransha Light Beacon was installed in the grounds of Gransha overlooking the River Foyle at the end of October 2005.
It was meant to symbolically link the two sides of the city.
The project was twinned with another light installation on the roof of the Tower Museum in the city centre. A pathway bordered by plants and shrubs was meant to guide visitors to the beacon at Gransha.
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Art attack’ transforms a rundown subway walk (From The Bolton News) - The Bolton News
‘Art attack’ transforms a rundown subway walk
10:15am Saturday 16th June 2012 in Local
MUMS, kids and volunteers launched an art attack in a run-down subway.
About 20 pupils from Kearsley Academy joined forces with three artists to cover the walls of the dis- mal subway under the Kearsley roundabout with a colourful mural for the community to enjoy.
Plans to spruce up the area began in February when a group of mums got fed up of walking past the graffiti-covered walls everyday on the school run.
Together the six women formed the Kearsley and Farnworth Vision Group and started the sub- way project with Kearsley Acade- my.
Sharon Tonge, chairman of the group, said: “Everyone has loved doing it and we’ve had so many people comment on how much bet- ter it looks now.
“It’s more brilliant than I could have imagined.
“The kids have absolutely loved painting it with the artists, and the girls from Asda who came down to help for the day were great, too.”
Sharon, aged 41, hopes to tackle the roundabout’s second walkway with primary school pupils from Kearsley West and Spindle Point for their next project. Pupils from Kearsley Academy’s school coun- cil worked in teams to brainstorm ideas for the mural before finalis- ing their choice of designs last week.
The artwork focused on giving out “positive and inspiring” mes- sages to the community who use the subway.
Offenders from the community payback scheme also helped clean up the walkway, working for 35 hours to scrub off the anti-vandal paint.
Dave Bowyer, who manages the community payback teams for the Greater Manchester Probation Trust (GMPT), said: “I am delight- ed that teams of offenders rigor- ously supervised by GMPT have completed this project and have, in a very real way, paid back to the community against which they offended.”
Tracy Fenton and her team of artists from Bolton’s ArtFantastic organisation outlined the artwork before the pupils set to work with their paintbrushes.
Tracy said:”It’s a piece of public artwork and the feedback has been absolutely overwhelming.
“People have said that the posi- tive message and colours of the mural makes them feel safer when they’re walking through the sub- way.”
Source: www.theboltonnews.co.uk
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