VISUAL CULTURE OF THE VALLEYS

Commissioned by the Heads of the Valleys Public Art Working Group

March 2008

HEADS OF VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY

VOLUME I

Cover: Glass Canopy, Martin Donlin, 2005.

0.1 INTRODUCTION

This Public Art Strategy shows how artists can assist in the transformation of the Heads of the Valleys (HoV) area through integrated and free standing artworks of both a temporary and permanent nature; working as commensurate members of design teams and engaging with local and transient communities.

Implementation of this strategy will result in the delivery of excellent and meaningful artworks in a variety of genres and an adherence to principles of good design and community engagement across the region. Public Art projects will be initiated to benefit the whole region through close partnership working across the five constituent local authorities.

For the Heads of the Valleys region to live up to the past and to stake a claim for its future, this strategy aims to:

• Involve all areas of the region – both urban and rural

• Provide a legacy of memory for visitors

• Raise the region’s profile for cultural activities and innovation

• Deliver a cultural return from a wide range of public and private investment

• Engender pride in the new valleys’ identity

• Set standards of excellence

• Create exceptional works that are international examples of best practice

• Integrate art and design in the lives of its inhabitants

At an Artists’ Visioning Day for the HoV region, in particular for the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road (see Volume II, Section 8.0, B), British artist Colin Rose and Dutch artist Paul de Kort presented their vision for the regeneration of the valleys landscape. Paul de Kort compared the Valleys to a ‘Blessing Hand’ and a ‘Scratching Hand’. The blessing hand relates to the Brecon Beacons National Park and its unspoilt beauty, where the land formations echo the shape of an outstretched palm. The Scratching Hand is symbolic of the scarring of the landscape by mankind’s industrial interventions, as its natural resources have been dragged south to Newport and Cardiff.

This strategy builds on this heritage of industrial culture and the natural beauty of the landscape, in which the future of the community can be firmly embedded.

The integration of artworks within the HoV area will involve a multi-layered and diverse approach that will include visual interventions that are easily identified as public art commissions, alongside the enhancement of the existing natural and manmade features of the area. The area has an inherent and robust beauty; marks and scars from industry, weathering and erosion are all part of the region’s story. As Colin Rose has suggested, these aspects could be enhanced by amendments to existing structures, negating negative associations, opening up obscured vistas and remembering that the decision to take something away can be as much a creative act as producing something new.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART VISION...

0.1 INTRODUCTION

0.2 CONTEXT

0.3 OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT

0.4 ASPIRATIONS

0.5 IMPORTANCE OF CRAFT BUSINESSES AND MAKERS

0.6 CLEAR POLICY AND STRATEGY

0.7 CONCLUSIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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0.2 CONTEXT

The HoV Public Art Working Group, drawn from all the five constituent Local Authorities and with the input of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), has commissioned and collaborated with the authors of the strategy and given it its correct context. The strategy follows the introduction of the Strategic Framework for the Heads of the Valleys in 2005, alongside the following strategic contexts:

• The A465 Landscaping Strategy

• The Valleys Regional Park Initiative, including ‘City of the Valleys’ and ‘Greening of the Valleys’

• New initiatives by WAG and ACW, including Communities Next and ACW HoV Community funding

0.3 OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT

There are numerous resources and opportunities listed in Turning heads… A Strategy for the Heads of the Valleys 2020 (2006) for an environment enhanced by the consideration of public art and artists’ projects, including:

• The upgrading of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road

• Positive developments in the South East Wales labour market

• Continued major public investment in the area

• Housing renewal

• The accessible countryside and rich historic and built environment

• The communities of the Heads of the Valleys

• The robust national and local policy context

0.4 ASPIRATIONS

The key aspirations that will drive the Public Art Strategy forward are:

• New landmark artworks that act as beacons for visitors and a source of pride and identity for residents. These can be located at gateways to the region or significant intersection points, such as Dowlais Top, or mark the meeting point of the main valleys with the HoV Road and other key locations.

• Enhancement of the HoV’s heritage and culture through artwork, which may assist in preserving and highlighting existing industrial or architectural treasures, such as Crumlin Navigation Colliery, the Blaenavon and Shirhowy Iron Works, the various redundant railway viaducts, and many others. The sustainability of these treasures depends on finding new interpretations and uses for them, for which art and cultural initiatives can often create a focus.

• The integration of artists on design teams at the earliest stages in development projects that incorporate public spaces or routes, such as town and village squares, bridges, new housing schemes, public buildings, new cycle paths, foot paths and roads. Incentives may be offered to encourage this, in particular to private sector

developers. This is especially applicable to developments in healthcare and within historically significant and sensitive sites.

• Landscape works on a variety of scales that emphasise the necessity to care for the environment or may even support biodiversity.

• The marking and enhancement of routes and trails that connect communities across the region, such as the EVR line, the A465, Sustrans’ routes, the Iron Trails and river or canal-side walks. These could include smaller scale gateways, signage, or temporary participation projects and events.

• Artists’ projects and residencies that

enhance the sustainability of communities. These can lead to regular events such as craft fairs or symposia, studio accommodation for artists-in-residence or craft-makers, mentoring and development projects for local artists or makers as well as projects that empower local communities to run and maintain art projects, perhaps with Communities Next partnerships.

0.5 IMPORTANCE OF CRAFT BUSINESSES AND MAKERS

This strategy recognises that craft forms a specific strand within public art and design initiatives and recommends special attention to developing craft businesses and integrating excellent contemporary craftwork into architecture, as well as commissioning stand-alone projects.

0.6 CLEAR POLICY AND STRATEGY

The successful implementation of this strategy will be dependent on effective leadership, advocacy and clear lines of responsibility. To ensure effective discharge of the strategy recommendations, management groups should have clear responsibilities and mid to long term objectives. Local Council policies and strategies should be mediated through Public Art Officers or working groups and championed effectively by officers and elected members.

0.7 CONCLUSIONS

This strategy and its appendices highlight the uniqueness of the cultural and industrial wealth of the region, referring closely to WAG’s strategic objectives and drawing attention to the large range of information on existing works in the valleys, fundraising possibilities, opportunities for community consultation and definitions of public art and craft. It recommends the continuing involvement of public art experts to respond to the changing face of public art, funding and culture in the valleys region over the coming years to ensure the delivery of the vision encapsulated in the HoV Strategy.

Over the next 10 years the visual culture of the valleys will become immediately apparent to the outside visitor and enhance the pride and sense of identity to the people who live and work here.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY4 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY | 5

Scratching Hand, Blessing Hand, Paul de Kort, 2007

Storm King Wall, Andy Goldsworthy, 1997-1998

1.1 ART AND DESIGN IN THE PUBLIC REALM

The commissioning of public artworks from professional artists within major housing, infrastructure and construction works has become the norm in many Northern European nations, including Britain. Artists now play significant roles in regeneration programmes and there is a growing understanding and appreciation of the skills of professional artists and how they may benefit the regeneration and development of the public realm. In almost every major development programme, urban or rural, the inclusion of artists and artworks is now viewed as the rule rather than the exception.

1.2 WHY COMMISSION PUBLIC ART

The benefits of commissioning public art lie in the contribution that artists can make to the public perception of a place by highlighting its uniqueness and sense of identity. Their contribution is often more than simply cosmetic; a town that shows its pride through commissioned artworks is sending a message of confidence to the world outside.

Public art can:

• Improve the quality and design of public spaces Artists can collaborate with landscape designers and architects to highlight different viewpoints, develop innovative ideas and introduce new skills.

• Engender pride and ownership of artworks and public spaces by involving the local community in the design process through consultation programmes and workshops. Thorough consultation allows communities to have a tangible input and to feel part of the

process of regenerating their environment. This leads to a pride, which can lower the incidence of vandalism, and heighten the esteem in which an area is held.

• Highlight and emphasise the access points to existing and proposed amenities. Improvements to signage, gateways and paths help to ease the movement of people to amenities and so encourage the use of the services they provide.

• Help to create attractive focal points by punctuating the hard and soft landscaping with features that hold the viewer’s attention, thus encouraging people to spend more time in places. Attractive seating, lighting, landscaping, and events also invite people to an area and allow them to enjoy spending more time there.

• Interpret places Artists are often encouraged to research the history, vision and aspirations of an area to ensure that artworks are relevant to the place in which they will be sited. This information may also be incorporated into or used to contextualise artworks. In this way, artworks can add new dimensions and emphasise contemporary aspects of the public realm whilst also respecting and sometimes directly referencing the existing cultural identity of a place and its inhabitants.

• Make a positive impact by improving the attractiveness of places and creating a good first impression for visitors.

• Attract modest additional funds to regeneration schemes. Public art programmes may be used to strengthen funding applications for major projects.

1.1 ART AND DESIGN IN THE PUBLIC REALM

1.2 WHY COMMISSION PUBLIC ART

1.3 PUBLIC ART AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1.4 A VISION FOR PUBLIC ART

1.5 THE PUBLIC POLICY CONTEXT

THE INCLUSION OF ARTISTS AND ARTWORKS IS NOW VIEWED AS THE RULE RATHER THAN THE EXCEPTION.

INTRODUCTION

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• Support sustainable cultural activity through the employment of artists, which can encourage the small number of professionally qualified artists working in the area to remain and other artists to relocate to the area. Working with artists outside an area also enables the transfer of skills and experience to it.

1.3 PUBLIC ART AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

There are many local and national government strategy and policy documents setting out objectives for regeneration that usually include: improving economic performance; creating more desirable places to live; improving health and skill levels; tackling social inclusion; and attracting more tourism. Art and culture play a vital role in helping to achieve these ends and in many cases, artistic input is the element that acts as a catalyst for successful regeneration and the one that people identify as a visual sign of that success.

In fact, it is now widely agreed that Public Art can:

• Increase the sense of ownership, confidence and creativity of local communities

• Assist skill building through participation in artist–led workshops

• Provide opportunities for communities to directly affect their environment

• Enhance and build on local partnerships • Maximise benefits for visitors • Improve the quality of the public realm and

local environment and encourage its appreciation

• Assist in improving the quality of life • Raise the profile of the area • Support efforts to stimulate the local

economy and to attract inward investment • Secure local distinction and enhance public

spaces, contributing to the social, economic and cultural wellbeing of the community

1.4 A VISION FOR PUBLIC ART

In order to live up to the past and to stake a claim for its future the public art strategy for the HoV region should aim to:

• Integrate art in the lives of its inhabitants • Involve all areas of the region – both urban

and rural • Provide a legacy of memory for visitors • Raise the region’s profile for cultural activities

and innovation • Deliver a cultural return from a wide range of

public and private investment

The programme of public art commissioning should aim to deliver works that:

• Inspire, excite and challenge • Mark gateways, urban transitions and

gathering places • Enhance the cohesion of the region • Integrate art with the functional infrastructure • Range from the intimate to the large

landmark scale

• Support sustainable development through innovative environmental art

• Involve innovative uses of new media

This programme should be delivered by means of:

• The involvement of the best Welsh and international artists

• A commitment to best practice in procurement

• A cross-cutting approach within the local authority

• Processes that actively involve communities • Partnerships between the local authority

and external commissioning agencies • Partnerships between the local authority

and other public bodies • Partnerships between the public and

private sectors

1.5 THE PUBLIC POLICY CONTEXT

The adoption of a public art strategy for the HoV region would be timely for many reasons, not least since it would find a uniquely supportive policy framework across a range of public bodies, namely:

• The European Union is placing an increasing emphasis on the delivery of cultural programmes.

• The UK Government supports a strategy - A Better Quality of Life – that identifies ways in which new developments and buildings can help create the conditions for improved quality of life and the significant role that is played by art, design and craft in relation to such developments.

• The Welsh Assembly Government has adopted a cultural strategy that contains specific support for public art. The strategy document – Creative Future – says “public art is one means whereby many areas of public expenditure can deliver a cultural return. Moreover, there is a need for far wider recognition of the part public art can play not only in creating more beautiful and secure public spaces, but also in contributing to the regeneration of communities.”

• The Arts Council of Wales has conducted a sector wide review of public art support and a commitment to the development of public art is included in its own five-year corporate strategy.

• The Design Commission for Wales has been established to raise standards in architecture and the built environment. The Commission – similar to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in England – promotes the various creative and design cultures in Wales and seeks to maximise potential for quality and distinction in development, both urban and rural.

INTRODUCTION

IN MANY CASES, ARTISTIC INPUT IS THE ELEMENT THAT ACTS AS A CATALYST FOR SUCCESSFUL REGENERATION AND THE ONE THAT PEOPLE IDENTIFY AS A VISUAL SIGN OF THAT SUCCESS.

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Glass Canopy, Martin Donlin, 2005

The Ruhr Area, or ‘Ruhrgebeit’ in German, is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large former industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west and Lippe to the north. Inhabited by some 5.3 million people, it is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, London, Paris, and Madrid. Towns in the area first grew during the Industrial Revolution, mainly basing their economy on coal mining and steel production. As demand for coal slowly decreased after 1960, the area went into phases of structural crisis and industrial diversification, first developing traditional heavy industry then moving into service industries and high technology.

In 2005 ‘Essen for the Ruhrgebiet’ was the official candidate for nomination as European Capital of Culture for 2010. This nomination added momentum to the regeneration of the area and the RUHR.2010 program was initiated, building on collaborations between the North Rhine Westphalia government, the City of Essen and the Ruhrgebeit district that had been developed over the last 20 years.

Ruhr.2010 aims to develop a single metropolitan region in a new style out of 53 individual cities by adhering to the maxim “transformation through culture – culture through transformation”. RUHR.2010 has resulted in the gigantic industrial wastelands of the region being systematically registered, secured and rendered accessible again for the tourism and leisure industry and assigned new functions as cultural and leisure centres.

Unique venues for exhibitions, concerts and plays have been developed, which have a decisive influence on the cultural programme of the region and today enjoy international renown. The old collieries are also utilised for some unusual leisure activities: deep sea diving in the gasometer, climbing the blast furnace, or swimming on a former coking plant site. The cultural programme has removed from these monuments of the industrial past the aura of failure and despair. Today, they are more symbols of renaissance and have contributed to the forging of a new identity for the region. Comprising of 100 hectares of land in the north of Essen, Shaft XII, Shaft 1/2/8 and

the Zollverein coking plant, the Zollverein World Cultural Heritage Site – formerly known as the “most beautiful coal mine in the world” – is probably the best-known of these reinvented industrial monuments.

Between 2003 and 2006 the Coal Washing Plant was transformed into a museum - the Red Dot Museum that houses an impressive collection of contemporary design. The facade and the machines were overhauled and restored, and the building was equipped with modern technology and facilities. Finally a new entrance gangway was added to the outside of the building. This is a 58-meter freestanding escalator that leads directly up to the 24-meter level and the new Zollverein visitor centre, which from 2009 onwards will be known as the “Portal of Industrial

Heritage”. Opened in 2006, the Zollverein School of Management and Design is the first new building on the World Cultural Heritage site for 50 years and is an architectural masterpiece designed by the Japanese architectural office SANAA. The new “design city” at Shaft site 1/2/8 continues to grow. “Design city N°1” offers offices and ateliers for people who are setting up their own business. This will be followed by “design city N°2”. The Zollverein Park is taking shape as a recreational area for local residents and visitors to the World Cultural Heritage site alike. The old spoil tips, now greened over, provide a habitat for rare flora and fauna.

Around 1000 jobs have now been created at Zollverein, which has become the creative centre of the Ruhr Area and attracts around 800,000 visitors per year. And

the number continues to grow. Zollverein has mastered the process of structural change. It is simultaneously aware of its historic industrial roots and its responsibility for the future. The Zollverein World Cultural Heritage Site is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) - the tourism information network of industrial heritage in Europe. The ERIH currently presents more than 830 sites in 29 European Countries, of which there are 66 Anchor Points that build the virtual ERIH main route. Within this main route are a series of Regional Routes that link landscapes and sites that have left their mark on European industrial history, such as Germany’s Ruhrgebeit Regional Route, within which the Zollverein is sited, or South Wales, a key region in Great Britain described as the “world’s first industrial nation”.

CASE STUDY

European capital of culture Ruhr 2010 and the Zollverein World Heritage Site

THE REGENERATION OF THE RUHR REGION IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF HOW CULTURALLY LED REGENERATION CAN BE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY TO BENEFIT THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A POST-INDUSTRIAL AREA.

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Kohlenwäsche (Coal Washing Plant), 2006.

Top: Werksschwimmbad (Works swimming pool), 2006. Bottom: Extraschicht, 2005.

2.1 CLIENT’S BRIEFING AND CONTEXT

2.1.1 The HoV Public Art Working Group was established in the autumn of 2007 with the aim of initiating the process of strategic investment in public art across HoV as part of an area-wide, coherent programme related to the strategic aims of the Heads of the Valleys Programme. It aspires to a position where:

• Public art is widely seen as part of the regeneration process, changing the perception of the HoV area.

• Opportunities are taken to create stimulating interventions in the public arena using the skills of artists (a term which is held to include fine artists, designers and designer-craft practitioners).

• The HoV area is known for having a series of high quality and highly visible examples of public art, which together form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This contributes to attracting cultural tourists to the area, gives the area identity, and the people a sense of pride and ownership.

• The economic and regenerating benefits of investing in public art are clearly articulated and the maximum economic benefit is reaped from investment in it.

• There is a public art trail, which includes a designer crafts element, maximising the economic potential of creating high value designer crafts in Wales.

• Investment in public art is used as a key component in community development, offering members of the community the opportunity to engage with the process of developing creative works.

• Communities have been developed with an appreciation and understanding of public art.

2.1.2 The HoV Public Art Working Group have adopted the following definition of the term public art:

WORKS OF ART, CRAFT OR DESIGN OF QUALITY, WHICH ARISE FROM THE INVOLVEMENT OF ARTISTS, DESIGNERS AND CRAFTS PRACTITIONERS IN PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE SITES.

For clarity, the definition is considered to include:

• Large scale three-dimensional artworks

• Artist-designed street furniture, paving, and other aspects of the urban landscape

• Artist/designer led features in the rural landscape

• Functional aspects of the urban and rural landscape which have the involvement of creative art and design professionals

• Integrated two and three-dimensional works

• Interior commissions in areas freely accessible to the public

• The work of designer-makers e.g. jewellers, metal-smiths, textile designers, furniture-makers, artists using lighting, ceramicists, makers in glass, stained-glass makers and calligraphers

• Digital art

PUBLIC ART IS WIDELY SEEN AS PART OF THE REGENERATION PROCESS, CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF THE HoV AREA.

2.1 CLIENT’S BRIEFING AND CONTEXT

2.2 STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

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2.2 STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

2.2.1 The key importance of culture and the built environment is recognised in the HoV Strategy, which states that the area will be:

• A culturally rich, dynamic network of vibrant and safe communities

• A place where people want to live, work and play with a sustainable high quality of life and a thriving population

• Helping to drive the success of South East Wales as an internationally recognised Capital Region.

The HoV Strategy is based around five priority themes, the first of which is an attractive and well-used natural, historic and built environment. It also sets out a number of strategic goals linked to each of these five themes and determines that reaching these goals is dependent upon a number of factors, namely the ability to:

• Agree a shared vision with partners

• Add value to existing provision and delivery in the area

• Provide a framework for greater and more effective co-operation between local authorities and other key stakeholders

• Remove unnecessary competition and duplication of effort

• Identify examples of good practice and apply them across the area

Therefore, it is important that key stakeholders for funding and delivering public art need to be identified and mechanisms put in place to ensure that there is effective co-operation in implementing the Public Art Strategy both across the five local authorities within the region and between different departments within individual local authorities.

A number of strategic programmes (SPs) that work towards achieving the five strategic goals have been developed. SP2 and SP3 refer to the built environment:

SP2: With stakeholders we will develop and implement a number of key strategic landscape-scale and environmental enhancements, concentrating on key corridors and gateways. We will focus on areas that are visually unattractive or derelict, acquiring sites if necessary to ensure the early removal of eyesores...We will develop a comprehensive design code to encourage consistent standards of urban and landscape design.

2.1.3 In 2007–08 the group commissioned this Public Art Strategy and an Artists’ Visioning Survey and Day Seminar related to the Landscaping Strategy for the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road. It also successfully raised commissioning fees for artist-designed furniture in Caerphilly. More recently the group facilitated the commissioning of Public Art Strategies and Policy for Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, the design stage of new sculpture for Elliot Colliery Museum in Caerphilly, gateway sculptures for trails in Merthyr and Blaenau Gwent, an artist to work on the design team for the new village square in Llanhileth and a capacity-building design project for craftspeople in Torfaen.

2.1.4 These early commissions are the result of a series of quick wins, proposed within the context of the developing Public Art Strategy delivered by Safle, the new organisation for public art in Wales. These early projects could:

• Select and attach an artist to work with the multi-disciplinary planning and design teams involved in forthcoming projects, thus embedding artists’ input into projects from the start, which is widely recognised as a best practice approach.

• Commission artists to spend time researching the HoV area, offering a reaction to the urban and rural landscape, which is then used to raise awareness of Officers and Members and inspire the future development of public art proposals.

• Move public art towards process, brokering an understanding of the arts, exploiting its accessibility, highlighting the quality of the experience.

• Begin the process of community involvement in public art commissioning for potential projects.

• Facilitate the involvement of local businesses in commissioning public art works.

• Engage designer-makers in a dialogue about how they might contribute to the public realm and inviting them to propose locations and projects as well as inviting them to do specific commissions.

• Develop mentoring schemes that would assist less experienced public art practitioners through attachment to a more experienced mentor.

2.1.5 In addition potential funding from the Sustainable Regeneration Fund will ensure that:

• The work proposed arises out of the Public Art Strategy and thus begins the process of implementing its recommendations.

• The work is part of a wider theme or concept establishing the first steps in developing a significantly added dimension to the investment in public art likely to take place over the next 10 years in the HoV area, where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

• The work involves interventions in the landscape on a large scale, for example, commissions linked to the Landscape Strategy for A465.

• The work engages with the ‘story that a whole landscape tells’.

• The work is part of a series, which links across more than one authority.

SCOPE OF STUDY

SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION OF THE SOUTH WALES VALLEYS CAN BE ACHIEVED USING ITS ENVIRONMENT AS THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THIS TRANSFORMATION.

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Dreamtime-N218, Lilian Roosenboom, 1997.

SP3: We will target investment towards improving the quality and maintenance of public spaces and amenities ... We will ensure that paths and cycle routes and accessible and pleasant, and find new uses for the vast network underused tramways, canal paths and old railway lines, with clear advertising and signposting to encourage use.

For both these strategic programmes, opportunities for public art need to be identified early on and the design code should give guidance on public art as well as urban and landscape design.

The tenth strategic programme, SP10, relates to promoting the South Wales valleys as a visitor destination:

SP10: We will organise events to help change perceptions and raise the profile and image of the area. We will use the marketing skills of stakeholders, as well as literature, public art and well placed and creatively designed signage, to tell the ‘Heads of the Valleys story.’

The Heads of the Valleys strategy also identifies communities of the area as an opportunity:

There are powerful social networks and a strong sense of culture and identity, and communities have been further empowered by initiatives such as Communities First.

Public art can contribute towards achieving these strategic programmes by changing the perception of a place, helping to interpret

the area, and engaging and working with communities on the regeneration of their environments.

2.2.2 A number of new initiatives have been recently introduced that will encourage community engagement in the cultural regeneration of the area and should be linked in with any proposed public arts initiatives, namely, on 30 January 2008 the Arts Council of Wales announced £125,000 for a new community arts initiative for the HoV, supplemented by match funding from other partners. At the same time WAG announced Communities Next, a development of the Communities First scheme focusing on sustainability in training and employment for communities. As almost 60% of the 134 Communities First areas across Wales are located in the Upper Valleys, the development of artists and craft-makers’ skills and career opportunities through partnerships, such as Communities Next, would seem to come within both these initiatives.

2.2.3 The A465 Landscaping Strategy has led the way in the engagement of artists in the development of regeneration schemes in the HoV region. White Young Green Planning were appointed by the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks of WAG to develop a landscape strategy for the route corridor of the A465 Heads of the Valleys Trunk Road between Abergavenny and Hirwaun. A strategic vision is required for the integration of the A465 highway improvements into its setting and a multi-disciplinary project team has been assembled with the necessary skills to achieve this. The team is led by landscape architects

and supported by other specialists from White Young Green, including planners and ecologists. Cotswold Archaeology is providing advice on matters relating to archaeology and cultural heritage. The public art input into the strategy has been provided by Safle and has so far involved the development of a strategy for the integration of artworks within the scheme following an artist-led visioning survey and day seminar that was attended by the design team and various stakeholders in the scheme.

2.2.4 The Valleys Regional Park is a project to provide better outdoor and countryside opportunities across all of the South Wales valleys, from Monmouthshire in the east to Carmarthenshire in the West, throughout the South Wales Coalfields and down to the M4. The project is being promoted by a group of 25 or more organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, including WAG Department of Economy and Transport, Countryside Council for Wales, and Groundwork, under the umbrella of the ‘Greening the Valleys’ partnership. Collectively the partners share a vision that the sustainable regeneration of the South Wales valleys can be achieved using its environment as the building blocks for this transformation. The project stems from research into a ‘City of the Valleys’ undertaken in 2002/3, which focused on infrastructure and regeneration development in the Eastern valleys of South Wales. The Greening the Valleys initiative is now developing this idea from a countryside recreation perspective and looks to apply it at

a regional scale, taking as its cue, the defining characteristics of the wider valleys region with its spectacular and unique environment. In developing the project, it is not intended to rename the area but simply to develop, co-ordinate and enhance outdoor/countryside recreation opportunities and facilities across the region as a whole in the future.

The City of the Valleys and the Greening of the Valleys could provide vast opportunities for the cultural regeneration of the HoV region and contrasts and complements the ‘Industrial Heritage Cathedral’ concept of the Rhur industrial heritage parks such as Zeche Zollverein, described on page 10, and the City of Light initiative in Jyvaskala in Finland.

A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY WITH A SUSTAINABLE HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE AND A THRIVING POPULATION

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Engagement Programme with the Ministry of Kids as part of the Ebbw Vale Public Art Programme, Nigel Talbot and Anthony Lynch, 2003

18 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY CASE STUDY

Without denigrating the hard work of all the groups, individuals and agencies involved in resuscitating a declining area, it is clear that the artist’s role can be a crucial one. The key point about the artist’s role in regeneration projects, unlike that of politicians, local authority officers, community pressure groups or businesses large or small, is that the artist can be neutral and objective. For this reason an artist can defuse a difficult situation or instigate a true consultation process. Often the artist can use the combined skills of objectivity, creativity and enthusiasm to carry others along with them. The results can take a while to become apparent, but the benefits are long lasting.

Nigel Talbot began work on the Gurnos Estate, Merthyr Tydfil, in 1998. His initial brief was to work with community groups using the Gurnos

Skills Centre, offering arts activities to all those interested. His residency was hosted by Groundwork Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taff and he was able to draw on their expertise, local knowledge and experience of working with communities in the area. Most of the first six months was spent in getting to know people and finding out what they wanted in terms of workshops and environmental improvements. No-one wanted him to leave when the first six months was up and Nigel was able to see all the initial consultation work bear fruit as the project went into a third year and beyond.

The women who attended the Skills Centre for ceramics workshops were trained to make pots for locally produced aromatherapy remedies. These were marketed and sold on the internet; walls were built, paths and even a poetry slab laid and

the Gurnos Skills Centre added new ceramics and woodworking workshops to the existing facilities. The community made their hopes for the future into cast images for new security fencing for the local clinic. There were plans for links with nearby Cyfarthfa Castle, artists’ studios, workshops, a craft outlet and an international sculpture symposium.

The centre was led for many years by the ceramicist Lisa Krigel. Now re-named the Gurnos Ceramics Community Workshop, it is a limited company and continues to fundraise and support arts in the local community.

Gurnos Estate Merthyr Tydfil Gurnos Ceramics Workshop

ARTISTS CAN PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE REGENERATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED AREAS OF WALES

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Gurnos Ceramics Workshop and Examples of Participants’ Work, 2007.

The following sections reprise the headlines from that strategy.

3.1 THE UPGRADING OF THE A465 HEADS OF THE VALLEYS ROAD

Along with other transport improvements such as the Ebbw Vale rail link, which opened on 6th February 2008 and the proposed Bargoed by-pass, this provides great opportunities for landscape-scale and landmark artworks, works integrated into structures, and smaller human-scale gateways and route markers, as well as artworks making community connections. Some projects are already in development and these are referenced in section 4.0: Recommendations for Implementation. Others will need to be explored as the development progresses, although we have endeavoured to highlight some short-term opportunities for commissions within this document.

3.2 POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SOUTH EAST WALES LABOUR MARKET

Wales’ cultural industries can benefit from and contribute to economic activity. Opportunities to help sustain communities through facilitating artists and makers to develop their careers within the HoV area should be explored. Many art students who left Wales to pursue their careers elsewhere, can and have been tempted back to live in Wales by a thriving arts community and new work opportunities.

3.3 CONTINUED MAJOR PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE AREA

The regeneration of the former Ebbw Vale Steelworks site and the EU budget agreement means that the Valleys will continue to benefit from high levels of funding through the 2007-13 EU Convergence Programme. Applications for funding for major development can and

should have proposals for the inclusion of public art and artists’ enterprise built in. The ‘one percent for art’ principle can offer a guideline on values but with the increased tendency to plan for the integration of art projects at the earliest stages, through the inclusion of artists on design and master-planning teams, the cost of commissions can be partially or fully integrated in the overall cost plan.

3.4 HOUSING RENEWAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT

There is strong interest from private sector house builders in developing new homes within the Valleys, as well as investment in retail, leisure and industrial development. These offer the opportunity for Section 106 planning gain agreements for public art to enhance public spaces in new developments as well as encouraging greater design quality through the inclusion of artists and makers at the early design stages. The adoption of a Public Art Strategy with comprehensive Supplementary Planning Guidance, including one percent for art guidelines will assist Local Authorities greatly. Some Local Authorities have already progressed towards this, including Rhondda Cynon Taff and Torfaen.

TURNING HEADS … A STRATEGY FOR THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS 2020 (2006) FOCUSES ON THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE AREA PRESENTS, ALL OF WHICH HAVE SCOPE FOR PUBLIC ART OR ARTISTS’ INTERVENTIONS.

3.1 THE UPGRADING OF THE A465 HEADS OF THE VALLEYS ROAD

3.2 POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SOUTH EAST WALES LABOUR MARKET

3.3 CONTINUED MAJOR PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE AREA

3.4 HOUSING RENEWAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT

3.5 A RICH HISTORIC BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND AN ACCESSIBLE COUNTRYSIDE

3.6 THE COMMUNITIES OF THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS

3.7 A ROBUST NATIONAL AND LOCAL POLICY CONTEXT

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT

3.0

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Where land for development is sold by the public sector to the private sector, a clause may be included in the land sale agreement requiring the inclusion of public art. This principle was successfully operated by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation between 1990 and 2000 and resulted in some 150 commissions throughout the decade. However, this approach must also be underpinned by a comprehensive strategy and detailed advice on the implementation of the subsequent commissions.

3.5 A RICH HISTORIC BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND AN ACCESSIBLE COUNTRYSIDE

The HoV region has a rich historic built environment that includes the Blaenavon Steelworks World Heritage Site, the Big Pit Mining Museum, the Sirhowy Ironworks, the Trevithick Tunnel, many impressive railway viaducts and other industrial heritage features. The arts are well placed to highlight and build on the cultural and visual interests for visitors and to offer many new experiences negotiated through artists’ projects and interventions.

The Artists Vision, referred to in section 0.0 and more fully reported in the appendices, detailed in Volume II, section 8, B, draws on the juxtaposition of a stunning natural landscape and the varied traces of industrial activity. The Valleys are the gateway to the Brecon Beacons national park and serious efforts have been made to restore the landscape after the closure of mines and steelworks. All this offers unique opportunities to create sculpture trails, works integrated within the landscape, or more subtle interventions that emphasise transition or highlight significant locations. There are also opportunities to create major Land Art or landmarks that exploit and respond to the strong influence of manmade activities and structures of the natural landscape of the HoV region.

3.6 THE COMMUNITIES OF THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS

The successful Communities First and following Communities Next initiatives can be useful partners in art projects addressing social cohesion, citizenship and the physical linking of communities through enhancements to paths, trails and signage. These projects are time consuming and require a strong partnership structure to support delivery and ensure legacy. They can also support the commissioning of other works, securing local relevance as well as a sense of ownership of the work (or works) within a community.

3.7 A ROBUST NATIONAL AND LOCAL POLICY CONTEXT

This links the Wales Spatial Plan to the Heads of the Valleys Strategy and to this Public Art Strategy and will ensure that resources and creativity are directed in a strategic and co-ordinated way across the five HoV Local Authorities. Communication between wide ranges of partners, such as those in the Valleys Regional Park initiative, is also essential in planning and achieving a truly distinctive and excellent visual environment in the valleys.

THE ARTS ARE WELL PLACED TO HIGHLIGHT AND BUILD ON THECULTURAL AND VISUAL INTERESTSFOR VISITORS AND TO OFFER MANY NEW EXPERIENCES NEGOTIATED THROUGH ARTISTS’PROJECTS AND INTERVENTIONS

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Irish Hunger Memorial, Brian Tolle, 2002.

24 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY CASE STUDY

Artworks can be integrated into healthcare environments to provide tangible benefits to patients, visitors and staff by: aiding navigation and the definition of areas; creating a sense of arrival and differentiating public, private and social space; valuing people’s voices; acting as a consultative tool; breaking down boundaries; conveying a sense of quality healthcare; providing a caring, sympathetic and relaxing atmosphere; inspiring confidence and promote well being; creating a lasting impression of quality; building community links; and engaging end users in the development of their environment.

These benefits can be maximised by engaging artists in the early stages of a project’s development and though a layered, strategic approach, for example, four artists were commissioned to create artworks for a new children’s eye centre at Moorfields Hospital, London. The artworks have made a huge difference to the visual appearance and experience of the hospital. Alison Turnbull, a painter, collaborated with architects Penroyre & Prasad to resolve the design of louvres on the façade of the building, which help make the centre a distinctive and attractive landmark. Yuko Shiraishi created a wall painting based on an opthalmologist’s diagram that extends over five floors of a prominent stairwell that connects the ground floor entrance to the main waiting areas. The painting adds colour and aids intuitive wayfinding through the hospital. Fairy Tableaux by Samantha Byan and Tree Dwelling Creatures by Lucy Casson are on a more intimate scale and create humour, interest and inspiration in the waiting areas.

The Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre London, 2007

EVIDENCE INCREASINGLY SUPPORTS THE POSITION THAT EMOTIONALLY APPROPRIATE ART SELECTED ACCORDING TO EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINES IMPARTS AN IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION TO PATIENT CARE THAT IMPROVES OUTCOMES. ULRICH, R. & L. GILPIN (2003)

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Tree Dwellers, Lucy Casson, 2007.

Left: Fairy Tableaux, Samantha Bryan, 2007. Right: Louvres on the façade, Alison Turnbull and architects Penroye & Prasad, 2007. Bottom: Wall Painting, Yuko Shiraishi, 2007.

4.1 LONG-TERM GOALS

To support the long-term aspirations of the Heads of the Valleys Public Art Strategy, a region wide programme for the integration of good art and design into the regeneration and development of communities and other land reclamation, infrastructure and development initiatives is proposed. The aim is not only to respect and enrich the visual quality of the area and encourage sustainable arts and design practice, in economic as well as creative terms, but also to emphasise a unique regional identity and to promote a perception of the Heads of the Valleys as forward looking, imaginative and full of opportunity.

THE STRATEGY SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ART IN THE PUBLIC REALM IN A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT STRANDS:

• New landmark artworks that act as a beacon for visitors and a source of pride and identity for residents. These can be located at gateways to the region or significant intersection points such as the Dowlais Top, or mark the meeting point of the main valleys with the Heads of the Valleys Road and other key locations.

• Underlining the rich heritage and culture of the Valleys through specific art commissions, which may assist in preserving and highlighting existing industrial or architectural treasures that are now often part of pedestrian and cycle routes, such as the Crumlin Navigation Colliery, the Blaenavon and Shirhowy Iron Works, the various disused railway and tramway viaducts and many others. The sustainability of these treasures depends on finding new interpretations and uses for them. Art and cultural initiatives can often infuse new perspectives and create a focus for an alternative use.

• The inclusion of artists on design teams at the earliest stages in development projects, such as town and village squares, bridges or public space in new housing, public buildings and new cycle and foot paths and roads. Incentives may be offered, in particular to private sector developers, to encourage this. This would be particularly applicable to developments in healthcare and within historically significant and sensitive sites.

• Landscape works on a big or smaller scale to emphasise the quality of the environment, highlighting its sensitivity in visual and biological terms and potentially supporting improvements in biodiversity. These could support the Greening of the Valleys Initiative and the Valleys Regional Park agenda and may include projects such as the reinforcement of the Eastern Bank of Ebbw Valley, landscape restoration along the widened A465 and other environmental and landscape improvements associated with this project, the reshaping of former slag heaps and landscape restoration at landfill, opencast mining or quarry sites.

• The marking and enhancement of routes and trails that connect communities across the region. These could include smaller scale gateways and signage and temporary participation projects and events along routes such as the EVR line, the A465, Sustrans’ routes as well as the Iron Trails and river or canal-side walks.

• Artists’ interventions and residencies that enhance the sustainability of communities. These can potentially lead to regular events such as craft fairs or symposia, studio accommodation for artists or craft/makers, mentoring and development projects for local artists/makers as well as projects that empower local communities to address and resolve specific issues.

THE AIM IS TO EMPHASISE A UNIQUE REGIONAL IDENTITY AND TO PROMOTE A PERCEPTION OF THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS AS FORWARD LOOKING, IMAGINATIVE AND FULL OF OPPORTUNITY.

4.1 LONG-TERM GOALS

4.2 OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAJOR WORKS

4.3 INVESTIGATIVE AND TEMPORARY COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCIES AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS

4.4 TRANSPORT LINKS

4.5 INCIDENTAL INTERVENTION

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

4.0

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4.2 OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAJOR WORKS

The landscape of the Valleys region has been subject to full-scale transition and major man made interventions through many centuries. The visual impact was transformed through deforestation, grazing, the construction of boundary walls and laying of hedgerows, mining and quarrying activities, lime kilns, iron foundries and steelworks, the construction of canals, railway lines and roads with all associated infrastructure such as viaducts, tunnels and cuts and, not to forget, the expanding villages and towns, threading strings of terraced housing along the hillsides, counter pointed from time to time by large chapels, schools or workingmen’s clubs.

Standing on the top of the hill at St Illtyd’s for example, you can look down from a landscape formed through early agricultural activity and virtually unchanged over centuries, to a landscape showing strong traces of intertwined transport networks, industrial intervention and urban development (terraced housing, schools, chapels, workingmen’s clubs, shops, hotels and pubs), all squeezed into the convergence of two narrow valleys (Ebbw Fach and Fawr) into one (Ebbw Valley). Recent additions to this landscape include stabilisation works on hillsides, Forestry Commission plantations of pine, major road infrastructure and the crinkly sheds of industrial estates.

One specific project, the A465 Rhymney Valley Landmark for Caerphilly CBC is already in progress. New Yorker Brian Tolle has proposed a chimney reflecting similar structures from

the now demolished steelworks at nearby Bute Town, but with a twist, literally. The chimney curves over, disappears into the ground and re-emerges some metres away. The work will be of some scale and can be seen from the A465, as well as other roads within confines of the junction. It will stand as a marker for the head of the Rhymney Valley and neighbouring historic Bute Town. However its scale is still moderate within a wide-open landscape and the HoV region offers some excellent sites for major works of public art.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

4.2.1 Dowlais Top

This is a remarkable location on the A465 and a counterpoint to the dramatic Clydach Gorge section. It is also near to the current public art project by Brian Tolle, commissioned by Caerphilly County Borough Council with funds from Heads of the Valleys Partnership at Bute Town and thus could be the second in a series of major gateway or landmarks on the A465. The Dowlais site has also been subject to a competition for the design of an artwork in the Landmark Wales project, which has failed to gain funding from the Big Lotto. Any new proposal for this site needs careful consideration and should be the subject of a new feasibility study, taking into account the following factors:

• The outstanding potential to create an extraordinary landmark

• The complexity of the junction once completed

• The complexity of the visual experience when travelling through this junction, juxtaposing various natural and manmade landforms and structures

• The size of the junction, extending the search for the site for the work

• The richness of historical and contemporary cultural references offered

• The crucial function of this junction, linking North-South, as well as East-West traffic

It is recommended that the work commissioned should emphasise the contrasts in the landscape and accentuate the manmade forms of spoil heaps and the scarring caused by water erosion. This suggests a very large land art work, stretching through the landscape and perhaps facilitating a stop off and exploration, in a similar way to James Turrell’s ‘Roden Crater’, 1977 – present, Volcanic Mountain, Flagstaff, Arizona, or Robert Morris’ ‘Untitled (reclamation of Johnson Gravel Pit)’ in King County, Washington. Morris’s work demonstrates the aesthetic and economic viability of using art in land reclamation. The piece is built in an abandoned quarry next to a roadside and consists of concentric slopes and platforms forming an amphitheatre in the centre of the site. Only the sky can be seen from within the amphitheatre but if the visitor climbs to the top of the hill that rises in the lower section they can survey spectacular views of the surrounding valley.

4.2.2 Ebbw Vale Steelworks Site

The site offers a number of short and long term opportunities for artists’ design involvement and projects, which have been studied carefully in the Feasibility Study carried out for Blaenau Gwent by Cywaith Cymru-Artworks Wales in 2006-07. Some of these are permanent works and others are temporary projects and interventions. As previously mentioned, Gordon Young has been appointed as artist on the design team for the Northern development area. A project designed to archive and celebrate the spaces in the General Office building has been superseded by the early renovation of

THE LANDSCAPE OF THE VALLEYS REGION HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO FULL-SCALE TRANSITION THROUGH MANY CENTURIES… AND THE HoV REGION OFFERS SOME EXCELLENT SITES FOR MAJOR WORKS OF PUBLIC ART.

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Dump Truck, Wim Delvoye, 2006.

Boulder Wall, Gordon Young, 2006.

the building. However there is still scope for a project linking the activity in the building to the town centre of Ebbw Vale by means of a digital video or film and projection work.

The basements on the Basement Park area are earmarked for temporary and/or permanent artists’ projects and exhibitions. The bridge and the wetlands area, although designed and planned by the landscape architects, also offer opportunities for environmentally sensitive artworks.

The Steelworks Site will also host the 2010 National Eisteddfod, offering an excellent opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of the area, the strong focus on arts and crafts as a significant part of its regeneration and highlight new and innovative developments, as described in further detail in other sections of this document.

Eastern Bank, Ebbw Vale Steelworks

The sustainability work, which is planned for the Eastern Bank, facing the Ebbw Vale Steelworks Site, is a good opportunity to start planning the involvement of an artist to inform the reshaping of a vast stretch of hillside overlooking the site. This Eastern slope has already had some early housing development but the greater part of the land is earmarked for consolidation work involving the planting of many trees. This is a prime site and opportunity for landscape-scale environmental landmark art.

4.2.3 A465 Brynmawr and Clydach Gorge

The most complex section in dualling the A465 is without a doubt the Clydach Gorge. This dramatic Gorge, formed through millennia of erosion by the River Clydach of the sedimentary stone bed, has already seen many human interventions through the ages, from lime kilns, quarrying and tramways, to a major traffic artery; the A465, also known as the Heads of the Valleys road.

The construction of the road has obscured the river for most of the stretch through the gorge, where both are competing for space, resulting in the road being elevated above the river for large sections. The presence of water is only evident through the many small cascades of water emerging on vertical sides of the gorge in certain sections.

The Gorge would provide an ideal location for a dramatic intervention that would somehow reveal or refer to the strong presence of flowing water and the influence of the natural elements, as well as man’s industrial activities in the shaping of this landscape. The brief for such a work should clearly state that the work is not to compete with the visual qualities of the landscape, but may contrast this. An artist for such a project as this should be very carefully selected and the chosen artist must display in their work a sensitivity to the particular circumstances of the setting and be able to present a track record that matches the ambitions for a project of this nature.

The site for the work needs to be very carefully selected on visual and aesthetic grounds, but also in respect of the geology of the gorge. Some obvious locations for a work may not be able to support a structure of some size and weight, due to faults in the rock strata and water drainage. The work could therefore also be of a linear nature and consist of several smaller elements, rather than a tall, rising structure.

The work should be implemented alongside the planned dualling work and an integration of this commission into the planned structures and road layout should seriously be considered.

4.3 INVESTIGATIVE AND TEMPORARY COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCIES AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS

4.3.1 Blaenavon World Heritage Site

World Heritage status has been a catalyst for the regeneration of Blaenavon which is underway. A number of public art and artist project proposals have been put forward in the recent Torfaen County Public Art Strategy commissioned from Cywaith Cymru Artworks Wales, now Safle. Two proposals offer opportunities for early gains.

I. Blaenavon, a living history of metalworking

Blaenavon, with its strong identity as an iron town could become host to a new generation of

metal workers. Unlike the heavy industry of the ironworks however, the modern interpretation would be through contemporary art and craft.

If the visitor to the town were to see artists and craftspeople working with metal, it would help to provide continuity between the creativity and invention that spawned the ironworks and the modern creativity inherent in contemporary Welsh craft.

The point of developing a contemporary metal-based craft project is to help reinforce the identity of Blaenavon as a place of creativity and invention. It is these qualities that saw new processes developed that helped the iron industry to develop around the world. Not only that, the use of metal makes a connection between the past and the present that would be of interest to the visitor.

One thing that would attract artists and craftspeople working in metal to Blaenavon would be some kind of workshop facility within which they could carry out their business and possibly sell to the public directly. These facilities have been successfully established in other locations such as the Model House Llantrisant, Tredegar House Newport and Craft Renaissance near Usk.

Two buildings that might be considered for studio use include the space behind Moriah Chapel, known as Hawkins, and the Electricity Powerhouse in Forgeside, a grade 2 listed building which is looking for a use.

II. World Heritage Site Artist in Residence

The World heritage Site as a whole is an enormous resource which will require interpretation to help make sense of it both locally and within an international context. The Interpretation Centre will carry the responsibility of delivering the mainstream interpretation but there is also a role for the visual arts to play its part in helping to bring the site to life. The Interpretation Centre could provide an ideal base for an artist in residence, being the natural focal point for interpretation of the site, using a range of new technologies in a potent mix with the archaeological landscape. The brief for this artist would focus on ‘mapping’ in its broadest sense and would focus on creating social links locally and internationally and developing artworks.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION30 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY | 31

Knockers, Ann Catrin Evans.

Grosvenor Gate, Shelagh Wakely, 2006.

4.3.2 Crumlin Navigation Colliery

This jewel of 19th Century industrial architecture is one of the examples of great heritage buildings in the HoV area that can be given a sustainable future through cultural development. Another landmark structure, the Crumlin Viaduct, was lost many years ago but lives on in archive and memory. A renovation of the Crumlin buildings, together with excellent modern development architecture could offer possible artist or craft studios, galleries, performing art venue or other cultural use or merely the opportunity for artists-in-residence and artworks recalling industrial culture. The re-use of old buildings in tandem with contemporary additions has been successfully championed in Germany and Italy for many years.

4.3.3 The University of Glamorgan

The University of Glamorgan is seeking to appoint consultants to undertake a feasibility study relating to the creation of a new arts centre in Merthyr. The project is co-funded by ACW and WAG. This is an opportunity to involve artists in the design of a major new public cultural building and its public spaces.

4.3.4 Torfaen Craft Development Symposium

This project develops the capacity of local craft makers and industries to respond to the emerging public art programme in the Heads of the Valleys area. Torfaen County Borough Council will commission up to four successful professional public artists working in a craft related medium.

These artists would be commissioned to respond to a specific design brief with a period of time for research and then to present and debate the implications of these ideas with an invited audience of regional makers/designers.

4.3.5 Public Art Policy, Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council (RCT), Town Strategies for Ferndale and Aberdare

In order to maximise the potential gain from projects leading out of the HoV Strategy and in order to integrate these into the RCT policy, RCT has commissioned consultants Celfwaith

to work with the authority to develop the Local Authority Public Art Policy for the HoV area. This will reference the HoV Strategy and other policies in the region and will lead to a strategic and planned approach to future commissioning and funding. RCT will then follow with limited strategies for towns in rural areas within HoV, namely Ferndale and Aberdare.

This could be a model for other Local Authority Public Art Policies and town strategies where they are needed in the rest of the HoV area. This will benefit the HoV region by ensuring a strategic and well-executed programme of public art in the relevant local authorities.

4.3.6 A465/A467 Social Topography Project

Artist Steffan Caddick, who is skilled in digital, film and mapping projects, has been commissioned to explore the communities reaction to the siting of a major Landmark

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

sculpture on the A465 Bute Town interchange in Caerphilly. This project has an approximate £8k budget and sits alongside the Landmark Caerphilly commission with New York artist Brian Tolle. A similar but expanded project could animate a discussion with communities all along the HoV road.

An artist/social researcher, perhaps working alongside poets and/or filmmaker could investigate, create events and research the social topography and cultural and historical connections of the communities to the road and valleys. National Poets such as Gwyneth Lewis or Gillian Clarke and artist/investigators such as Jennie Savage or Steffan Caddick could work alongside cultural researchers with the collaboration of Further or Higher Education departments.

4.4 TRANSPORT LINKS

4.4.1 Ebbw Valley Rail Line; Llanhilleth

The Welsh heritage organisation Herian commissioned Cywaith Cymru Artworks Wales, now Safle, to carry out feasibility work into several artwork-based ideas to enhance the stations and surrounding areas. Those in the HoV area are Ebbw Vale and Llanhilleth although the whole rail line is a vital link for access to and development of the HoV area.

The Llanhilleth Area Regeneration scheme (LARS) has already constructed a new access road off the A467 and a new primary school. LARS will also be providing a village square and this will integrate with the station and provide improved pedestrian access to the platform and car park. The regeneration of Llanhilleth also includes restoration of the Institute building,

which re-opened in January 2008 and includes a handsome 1908 period meeting room/theatre on the upper level.

The new public space is a fantastic opportunity to involve an artist in the detailed design of the space and Blaenau Gwent are in the initial stages of appointing an artist to work on the design team in this project.

Linking the station and the new school development and Institute Building are a road bridge and separate footbridge. These will be re-painted as part of the scheme. The platform runs under the bridges.

4.4.2 Ebbw Valley Rail Line: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy

Ebbw Vale is the subject of major regeneration as the former steelworks site is redeveloped. The 80-hectare site will provide a mix of uses including a Learning Campus, Community Hospital, Business and Residential Developments. It is proposed that the railway line will be extended to serve the site in the future, subject to funding.

The location for the station is out of the town centre, in Ebbw Vale Parkway, but near a residential area. The setting for the car park is currently an open field with views out towards the hills. The proposed location for the railway platform overlooks the Ebbw River and a row of colourful terraced houses.

A new pedestrian bridge will be built to take people from the car park to the platform. This new footbridge will be considerably lower in height over the river than the current footbridge.

The entrance to the site has wide green verges on both sides backed by trees. A low

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Secrets of Cardiff, Lesley Kerman, 2009.

Grainger Town Map, Tod Hanson and Simon Watkinson, 2003.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

entrance feature is possible here, as long as the sightlines for cars are not disrupted.

Most of the houses in the area were built in the 19th century to house workers moving into the area. There are many notable buildings in and around the town, which survive from Ebbw Vale’s thriving and wealthy past, including Christchurch, the Literary and Scientific Institute, Penuel Chapel, Carmel Chapel the King’s Arms, the Ebbw Vale Hospital and the General Offices, to name a few.

In more recent times, Ebbw Vale was the site of the Garden Festival of Wales in 1992. Some of this area has now been developed into a residential and shopping area, but the Garden Festival Park is still open and includes an Owl Sanctuary. However, the artworks and sculptures still in place need to be better maintained if this is to continue to be advertised as an attraction for visitors.

4.4.3 Gateways and Markers Art in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Merthyr

Artworks along or to mark the start of 7 heritage trails – in the footsteps of the iron makers. Consideration should be given to make the works engagement pieces where possible, e.g. gateways and stiles. There is a good previous example of the Slate Valleys Pathways, a millennium project in Gwynedd. An Artist in Residence could engage with local people and organisations to develop ideas, skills and design concepts. A commission budget would enable works to be sited in a co-ordinated way.

4.4.4 Bridges over the Valleys

A series in which artists are involved in collaborations with structural engineers to create a footbridge or similar structure, thus creating examples of public art embedded within functional pieces which would be constructed anyway and will have substantial budgets for design and construction.

4.4.5 A465 Road

The ongoing dualing of the Heads of the Valleys Road, the possible development of roundabouts, the Dowlais and Bute Town landmark sites and the importance of the through route all make this a prime arena for major landmark works. Sites to be considered, with reference to the ‘Artists’ Vision’ in the Appendix, can be landmark heritage structures, landfill and spoil sites, the heads of the Rhondda, Cynon, Taf, Rhymney, Sirhowey, Ebbw and Ebbw Fach valleys and the entries to the region near Hirwaun or Abergavenny and Clydach Gorge.

4.4.6 Sustrans Cycle Routes

Possibly of more long-term importance than even the HoV Road are the evolving network of cycletracks and developments under the Sustrans umbrella. Sustrans is 30 years old and its new vision for partnerships in the HoV region states; “The vision of a Valleys Cycle Network and its benefits can only be delivered by working together. Partnerships with government, local authorities, community and voluntary organisations are critical to the creation of a network of routes that

will help to change the economic and social fabric of the valleys by 2015.”

Extending from Abergaveny in the east to Kidwelly in the west, the Valleys Cycle Network will include several key strategic routes including the Heads of the Valleys cycle route (National Route 46) and the existing Taff Trail (NR 8), Celtic Trail (NR4 & 47). These key strategic routes act as a spine onto which the other ‘Valleys Routes’ will connect to create the Valleys Cycle Network.

HoV Public Art Working Group could work to re-vitalise the public arts programme that Sustrans became known for and to integrate this with the Iron Trails and other pathway initiatives.

4.4.7 Bat Bridges; Art for Animals

New Genre Public Art makes art for animals. The idea of “bat bridges or corridors”, interpreted in different ways across the area, offering scope to involve artists in exploiting the potential for making interesting pieces in their own right as well as being functional and caring for our neighbouring species.

4.5 INCIDENTAL INTERVENTIONS

4.5.1 Trail of Light

There could be a programme of enhancement of the artistic content of works undertaken under the “Trail of Light” project so that they become as much public art statements as tourist attractions. The Trail of Light, which is highlighting some of the wonderful industrial

heritage structures in the region, would be extended to include contemporary public art lighting projects. Some of these could be the result of community involvement of the kind already commissioned for Bute Town in the Rhymney Valley and proposed for Ebbw Vale General Office and Town Centre.

4.5.2 Elliot Colliery, Rhymney Valley, Caerphilly

The Elliot Colliery Winding House Museum in New Tredegar in the Rhymney Valley is undergoing a radical makeover at present. A very modern extension is nearly complete and discussions with the architectural project management team have raised the following areas where there may be scope for artistic interventions such as a stand-alone public artwork at the entrance. The building sits within a constrained but elevated space in the valley. A site has always been identified within the landscaping plans for an artwork feature at the elevated entrance to the building. The piece will announce the museum and also visually complement the new bold architecture of the new build elements of the museum.

This project adds additional value to the redevelopment at the colliery enhances a destination and adds a site of art or design excellence in the region.

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Genome Stripes, Sir John Sulston and Katy Hallett, 2005.

Left: Spin, Nathanial Rackowe, 2006. Below: Bell Pit, Katayoun Dowlatshahi, 2006.

36 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY CASE STUDY

According to press, the site has become a sort of pilgrimage destination for local people. Within this interactive light and sound installation, visitors can hear fragments of Tubin’s music by knocking on the gongs on the back wall, then sit back and relax on a field of black ‘rubbery-feel’ concrete seats, which emit light from underneath onto white ground and wall surfaces.

Although elements of the light and sound are pre-programmed, the visitor also plays an active role; the sequence of the musical fragments are partly determined by the visitor and by actvity in the theatre, for example, light intensifies towards

the beginning of a performance, then drops right when the play/concert starts.

Since opening in June 2006, Veronika Valk has been returning to the site ‘undercover’ to document how people use the site: the monument resembles a giant drumming set, where people often joyfully dance back and forth ‘playing’ the gongs, igniting fragments from Tubin’s music. As a result one can admire on-site emergent choreography of young and old, students and office workers.

French sound designer Louis Dandrel from Diasonic managed

a compilation of musical phrases triggering both male and female, blue-collar workers and bohemians, kids and elderly people. Four rows of speakers create a waving soundscape on a grass slope between the theatre and the river. Sculptor Aili Vahtrapuu set Tubin in a ‘flying’ pose, truly conducting the inspiration of coming generations.

Although a small-scale project, it is located in a very prominent spot in a city of 100,000 inhabitants and has acquired an important role in the citizens’ daily lives.

Composer E. Tubin’s Monument Veronika Valk & Aili Vahtrapuu

EDUARD TUBIN WAS A HIGHLY POPULAR ESTONIAN COMPOSER SPECIALISING IN CHOIR MUSIC. SITUATED IN FRONT OF THE VANEMUINE THEATRE IN TARTU, ESTONIA, THE MONUMENT IS IN HONOUR OF HIS 100TH ANNIVERSARY AND EMERGED OUT OF AN ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITION HELD IN MAY 2004, WON BY ARCHITECT VERONIKA VALK AND SCULPTOR AILI VAHTRAPUU.

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Composer E. Tudin’s Monument, Architect Veronika Valk and Sculptor Aili Vahtrapuu, 2006.

5.1 SKILLS CRAFTSPEOPLE BRING TO THE PUBLIC REALM

Craftspeople are makers, they have specialised skills and knowledge in using materials. They are also designers and are able to make functional or decorative items, which are a pleasure to see and use. Placing their work in the public realm raises the quality of the environment in terms of design and craftsmanship. The crafted object will be more pleasing to the eye and to the touch than mass-produced objects.

Craftspeople are used to working to commission, making one-off pieces, and are flexible in being able to work to a tight brief. Many can also make batch production and produce several identical items for a project in a way that perhaps an artist would be reluctant to do.

Some craftspeople also teach their craft to supplement their income and these teaching skills can be used in a residency project to disseminate craft skills and give people access to the opportunity to express themselves through the arts.

It is often assumed that craftspeople only make small-scale work for interiors such as individual pieces of ceramics, glass, textiles, woodenware and furniture. However, they have the skills to create larger works made up of smaller parts that could fit into an architectural setting. Many have access to large workshop spaces where larger works could be made and using materials suitable for external settings.

There are also craftspeople that, in their current practice, make larger works for the outdoors, such as wrought iron work railings and screens or solid wood seating. Examples of how craftspeople are currently, or could potentially work in the public realm are given below.

5.2 CRAFT IN THE PUBLIC REALM

As detailed in the appendix the craft skills included in this context are:

• Architectural Glass • Glass blowers • Metalwork • Jewellers • Wood • Stone • Ceramics • Textile

5.3 PROMOTING CRAFT IN THE PUBLIC REALM

5.3.1 Collaborations and partnerships

Commissioners and public art consultants need to be more aware of the potential of craft in the public realm and to set up collaborations between architects and landscape architects with craftspeople. Particularly within new builds, the potential for integrating craft is enormous. A good example of a true collaboration between an architect and a craftsperson is that between Nick Childs, Childs & Sulzmann Architects, and Dail Behennah, on The Pavilion on Harbourside, Bristol. Dail Behennah influenced many details, but in particular designed the balustrade and security gates.

CRAFTSPEOPLE ARE MAKERS, THEY HAVE SPECIALISED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE IN USING MATERIALS. PLACING THEIR WORK IN THE PUBLIC REALM RAISES THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

5.1 SKILLS CRAFTSPEOPLE BRING TO THE PUBLIC REALM

5.2 CRAFT IN THE PUBLIC REALM

5.3 PROMOTING CRAFT IN THE PUBLIC REALM

5.4 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE CRAFTS AS PART OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

THE ROLE OF CRAFT AND DESIGN IN PUBLIC ART

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To support these collaborations, architects should be encouraged to see how craft can enable them to express the concept of their building. An architect’s design for an interior decorative feature is less likely to be well made by contractors than a craftsperson’s realisation of their own design work. As mentioned earlier, the craftsperson’s knowledge of materials, their skills in making work and their attention to detail with the finish of the work will always lead to better outcomes than an impersonal, ‘contracted out’ approach to design.

In other instances, a public art consultant may see the potential for an artist to collaborate with a craftsperson. The artist may have the overall vision and collaborate with a craftsperson with the relevant skills to realise the work. For instance, an artist working in urban regeneration may create designs for stone carving or metalwork railings, but collaborates with an appropriate craftsperson to make the work, as happened in the Chepstow High Street regeneration scheme. A database of local craft businesses would be useful in supporting regeneration schemes in this way.

There may be instances when a lead artist acts as the ‘visioner’ or concept designer of a scheme, who identifies craft opportunities for specific commissions.

To summarise, it is important to consider craft makers and designers as having the potential to be part of a design team to work alongside architects, landscape architects and other artists and designers. When briefs are written, the possibility of working with a craftsperson should always be considered.

5.3.2 Hospitals

New hospitals are ideal places to commission craft to be integrated within the new building. Architectural glass, ceramic wall panels, seating in courtyards, lighting, furniture or wall panels for the chapel, and reception desks are just some of the opportunities. Temporary / residency projects such as knitting, weaving, or printmaking are beneficial both for the therapeutic effects of the workshops but can also result in artworks to be displayed as temporary exhibitions or possibly permanently installed in a corridor or waiting area.

5.3.3 Community Centres

Community centres often offer art and craft classes such as knitting, quiltmaking, lovespoon making or jewellery. By bringing professional craftspeople in contact with these groups and organising workshops with a specific project in mind such as an exhibition or temporary/permanent commission, a specific part of the community is involved in a meaningful way. By involving the craft groups their skills are acknowledged, but they also have the opportunity to learn from the craftsperson and develop their skills further. Resulting work will be more ambitious and of higher quality when the craftsperson knows they will be working with people who already have skills working in that medium.

As well as targeting craft groups, general craft workshops are also important to give young people access to a range of training opportunities.

THE ROLE OF CRAFT AND DESIGN IN PUBLIC ART

5.3.4 Parks, riverside walks, canal paths, cycleways, woodland walks, former colliery sites

As well as Local Authority-led projects, many Communities First partnerships are active in these areas. For instance projects are currently happening or are in development for artworks along the Cynon River in RCT, and along the riverside at Six Bells in Blaenau Gwent, where they would like to extend the river walk down to Crumlin and work across authorities. Craftspeople with skills in woodwork, willow weaving, or clay modelling could all be utilised on such projects.

In 1998 a single large oak was felled in the National Trust estate of Tatton Park in Cheshire, England. The aims of the One Tree project were to show the unique value of the woodlands by showing the volume and quality of work that could be made from the one tree. Seventy-five selected artists, designers and makers made use of the tree, including, carvers, furniture makers, turners, a charcoal maker, ceramicists, a lacemaker, a ladder maker, a yurt builder, a calligrapher, basket makers, a leather tanner, a mail artist, a dress designer, a silversmith, jewellery makers, a poet, toymakers, an architect, papermakers, a photographer, a food smoker, a print maker and joinery firms.

This project shows how versatile wood is and how many different projects or commissions can be developed with wood. The Cwmaman Sculpture Trail project used oak to create 11 sculptures for a trail around the church. Future projects with wood could take inspiration from the One Tree project, for instance to

commission furniture for inside a church, or make charcoal for a drawing project such as the Big Draw.

5.3.5 Refurbishment of old buildings

The Heads of the Valleys is an historic area with fine buildings in need of repair. New uses are being found for old buildings such as Miners Institutes, and these new uses are often cultural - community centres, theatres, galleries and heritage centres. The integration of hand crafted works into these refurbished buildings would be far more sympathetic than the introduction of machine made items.

5.3.6 Residential developments

The fact that many craftspeople make multiples of their work could be advantageous for commissions within new housing developments. Rather than using a percent for art contribution to commission one sculptural work, a repeated craft element such as a front gate, letter cut door numbers or door glazing could be commissioned for each property.

5.3.7 Training, career development and research projects

Training to enable craft makers and designers to work in the public realm is a two-way issue. Commissioners, be they the Local Authority Officers, community groups, NHS trusts or private developers, need to learn more about the potential for craft in the public realm and the skills that craftspeople have. Conferences and seminars on public art need to include craft, with practitioners given an opportunity

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Left: Water Towers, Amber Hiscott and David Pearl, 2005. Below: Terracotta Quilt, David Mackie, 2003.

Homeshaker, Tejo Remy, Tanja Smeets and Rene Veenhuizen, 2008.

to present their work. Public art policies and supplementary planning guidance notes need to describe working with craft makers and designers.

In many projects involving collaborations, the implication is that the craftsperson responds to someone else’s vision and concept and therefore works within a tight brief. Craftspeople also need to be given the resources and opportunity to follow self-initiated ideas and to work on more open briefs where they are not limited to someone else’s vision.

Colleges could include modules on working in the public realm within their craft courses, to include training on how to work within the restrictions and regulations encountered by public artists, and even placements within architects/landscape architects practices, or planning departments.

Craftspeople need contacts within industry in order to make work in larger scales or quantities. This can sometimes start from within Colleges. In Dorset, the quarries on Portland are closely linked with artists through the Portland Stone Quarry Trust and the stone-carving course at Weymouth College. Through the course at Weymouth College, quarrymen’s skills are transferred to the next generation who will be able to use Portland stone in architecture, public art and hard landscaping.

The Creative Industries Research and Innovation Centre (CIRIC) is funded by The Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), Swansea Institute and private sector finance

to re-invigorate the creative industries sector within Wales. This body was set up because for too long creative practitioners have been forced to leave Wales to gain access to the necessary resources that are needed to further their practice. Any HoV strategy to support the creative industries needs to enter into discussions with CIRIC regarding what their role could be.

5.4 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE CRAFTS AS PART OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

5.4.1 Promoting ‘craft clusters’

South Wales has a number of renowned glass artists living and working here due to the well-established architectural glass courses at Swansea Institute. In the North East of England another cluster of glass artists who have been trained at the University of Sunderland are working in the public realm and are also supported by the National Glass Centre. Knowing what expertise there is in the HoV region will be important in deciding how to support them.

There are two aspects to this. The first is to research the craft makers/designers currently living and working in the HoV area and to find out what support would help them develop their business and careers. The second is then to ensure that an infrastructure is in place to attract new craft makers and designers to the area. Well-organised studio/workshop spaces are key, as are galleries through which they can be promoted and sell work.

THE ROLE OF CRAFT AND DESIGN IN PUBLIC ART

IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDERCRAFT MAKERS AND DESIGNERSAS HAVING THE POTENTIAL TOBE PART OF A DESIGN TEAMTO WORK ALONGSIDEARCHITECTS, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND OTHER ARTISTSAND DESIGNERS.

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Entrance Atrium Sculpture, Clare Twomey, 2006.

Top: Southwark Station, Alexander Beleschenko, 2000. Bottom: Millennium Bridge, Alexander Beleschenko, 2003.

from sustainable sources can show and sell their work. The project is supported by Defra, European funding and South Yorkshire Forest.

5.4.3 Leaflet Guides

A leaflet to advertise all the craft businesses in the area for residents and visitors would help enormously to publicise the crafts industry and with a map enclosed would help people find the locations where the crafts businesses are based, which are rarely on the high street but in rural out of town locations, or industrial estates. Pembrokeshire Council have published a craft guide with maps and this is also available online www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk.

A guide would also support events such as ‘Open studios’ weekends in the summer or before Christmas by making it easier for people to navigate their way between craft establishments. It also helps craftspeople get their work seen by the public and to sell their work. Many artist groups in various local authorities have grouped together to organise Open Studio weekends, which lead to artists getting new work and commissions.

5.4.4 Craft Fairs

Working in the public realm will undoubtedly offer craft makers and designers another avenue through which to make work and make a living. However, they depend to a great extent on selling to the public and assisting them in this should be a key aim when thinking strategically about how to support the creative industries.

Prestigious craft fairs such as the Collect fair at the Victoria and Albert Musem, or the Craft Council’s Origin fair at Somerset House, attract serious collectors from all over the UK. Closer to home, the Tredegar House Ceramics Fair was successful for 3 years but did not continue due to lack of funding, despite being extremely well attended. ClayArt Wales’ Potters Market in Denbigh is in its sixth year and generally North Wales serves craftspeople far better than South Wales, with the Ruthin Craft Gallery arguably being the most important craft gallery in Wales, recently renovated and extended to include a series of workshops and artist-in-residence studios.

An attractive venue such as Bedwellty House and Park, would be an ideal location for a craft fair and a critical factor in the success or otherwise of a craft fair is the quality on offer. Craft makers and designers need to go through a selection process to take part, but incentives for local makers could include discount rates.

THE ROLE OF CRAFT AND DESIGN IN PUBLIC ART

Cockpit Arts studios in Deptford, London is part of the Creative Lewisham Agency Creative Business Enterprise Zone – a community encouraging creative industries in Deptford - and is next door to the New Laban dance centre designed by Tate Modern architects Herzog & de Meuron. Cockpit Arts is a registered charity whose aim is to offer a variety of services, facilities and awards to help craftspeople launch, sustain and develop their careers.

Prices for studio spaces are from £35 per week for 100sq ft inclusive of all charges, such as marketing, rates, water, maintenance, and access to the services listed below:

• Inclusion in Cockpit Arts selling and marketing initiatives Open Studios and ongoing exposure to press, retailers, curators and collectors

• Training opportunities

• Insurance

• Computers with internet and e-mail access

• Photocopier and fax facilities

• Own webpage on the Cockpit Arts Website

Other examples of venues offering craft studio/workshop spaces in Wales are: Tredegar House in Newport, Parc Glynllifon near Caernarvon, and Ruthin Craft Centre. Glynllifon Park and Ruthin Craft centre also have a gallery space and Parc Glynllifon has some site-specific public art within the grounds. Artist blacksmith Ann Catrin Evans is based at Parc Glynllifon and Penny Sheard leather goods artist is based at Tredegar House.

Parc Glynllifon is managed by the Development Directorate of Gwynedd Council in association with the Countryside Council for Wales, Cadw and Welsh Historic Gardens. A web page on Gwynedd Council’s site supports Glynllifon’s artists through publicising them and having a link to their own websites. However, Newport Council’s website does not publicise the workshops at Tredegar House or the artists there.

Examples of privately run craft studios and galleries, or artist led facilities, are Craft Renaissance in Usk, run by a local entrepreneur, and the Fireworks Clay Studios in Cardiff which is run as a cooperative by all the members. Many members of the Fireworks Clay Studios are ex UWIC students and the availability of affordable studio space played a key part in their decision to stay in Cardiff after graduating. The cooperative have been successful in applying for grants to improve their facilities and organising a touring exhibition to show members’ work.

5.4.2 Websites and online selling

Craftspeople are usually sole traders or small businesses and have limited budgets to set up their own websites or brochures. A scheme to develop a craft website for the HoV area would give local craftspeople an online presence to reach a wider UK and international market. There are numerous craft websites, most of which people will never have heard of. Marketing the website is critical to its success. In Yorkshire for instance, the Working Woodlands Product Directory is a website where local craftspeople working with wood

WORKING IN THE PUBLIC REALM WILL UNDOUBTEDLY OFFER CRAFT MAKERS AND DESIGNERS ANOTHER AVENUE THROUGH WHICH TO MAKE WORK AND MAKE A LIVING.

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Left: St Georges Hospital, Lubna Chowdhary, 2004. Below: Gyro, Lubna Chowdhary.

As part of the redevelopment of Bristol’s Harbourside, Dail Behennah was appointed to collaborate with architects Childs+Sulzmann on the design of an urban village hall called the Pavilion, with the aim of creating a community building in which art and architecture merge. Dail, who has been a basket maker for the past 16 years chose to design the balustrade, doors and windows so that their moving shadows would animate the building. The balustrade comprises two layers of rods held together with decorative bars, which cast shadows that move across the upper deck throughout the day and appear to flicker when people walk past them as different elements come in and out of focus. The Pavillion was completed in 2006 and Nick Childs of Childs+Sulzmann, has said of the process:

“The artist’s contribution to the building was not, and was never intended to be, an addition to the architecture. The ambition was always to work together throughout the process and to integrate the artwork into the fabric of the building... The results speak for themselves. The whole of the building has benefited from another pair of eyes and a more astute aesthetic judgement... The balustrading is reminiscent of basketwork and references Dail Behennah’s interests in weaving and woven structures. It takes advantage of the southerly aspect of the site to cast complex patterns of light and shadow.”

The Pavillion by Dail Behennah with Childs + Sulzman Architects

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THE AMBITION WAS ALWAYS TO WORK TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AND TO INTEGRATE THE ARTWORK INTO THE FABRIC OF THE BUILDING… THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

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White Square, Dail Behennah, May 2006.

The Pavillion, Dail Behennah and Childs+Sulzmann Architects, Bristol, 2006.

To ensure effective discharge of the strategy recommendations, this section will cover the recommended responsibilities of each of the management group partners, giving immediate mid-term and long-term objectives.

6.1 THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART WORKING GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE TO THE HoV STEERING GROUP

Membership is from all 5 of the participating Local Authorities, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen and Arts Council of Wales and Safle as the public art advisors for the strategy.

Common to all partners, to ensure success, it will be important to:

• Further enhance the leadership role of the working group to drive the project

• Maintain the support and focus of the participating authorities throughout the regeneration process

• All Working Group representatives to act as advocates, advisers and champions, raising the profile of the project internally

• Effectively co-ordinate the delivery of the Strategy through the use of consultants

• Develop and maintain relationships with the relevant professional partners

• Co-ordinate a marketing programme for the Public Art Programme, in association with the participating authorities Tourism Officers

• Fundraise effectively towards the capital programme and an on-going commitment to culture within the region.

• Ensure capacity in order to manage commissioning and maintenance agreements with external partners

• Monitor the implementation of policy and adherence to best practice

• Be brave in the delivery of a high-quality,

artist-led, innovative Public Art Projects across the Heads of the Valleys region

6.2 COUNCIL POLICY AND STRATEGY

Of the participating authorities, none operates a 1% for Art planning guideline. Torfaen has recently commissioned a countywide public art strategy, which the authors believe is the only authority to have done so in recent years. RCT has recently commissioned a Public Art Policy and limited strategy for the HoV region within RCT. It is recommended that other Local Authorities should consider whether to commission and adopt as policy such policies or strategies. Further, local authorities and the Heads of the Valleys Steering Group should consider whether to adopt Supplementary Planning Guidance notes for developers including % for art policies.

6.3 MANAGEMENT STEERING GROUPS

None of the participating authorities has dedicated Public Art Officers although all have participated actively and positively in the Working Group. Most authorities have arts development officers (or several) and regeneration officers who take on responsibility for public art. It is recommended that authorities designate officers, across departments, to act as champions and steering group members to facilitate development and delivery of public art in their areas. These officer groups would benefit from a membership from Planning, Economic Development, Culture, Highways and Education departments.

6.4 ELECTED MEMBERS

All authorities should consider which Elected Members could also act as champions for Public Art and perhaps chair steering groups for Public Art.

THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STRATEGY WILL BE DEPENDENT ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP, ADVOCACY AND CLEAR LINES OF RESPONSIBILITY.

6.1 THE HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART WORKING GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE TO THE HoV STEERING GROUP

6.2 COUNCIL POLICY AND STRATEGY

6.3 MANAGEMENT STEERING GROUPS

6.4 ELECTED MEMBERS

IMPLEMENTATION POLICY AND STRATEGY

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In 2006 internationally renowned artist Shimon Attie was invited to come from New York to Aberfan, the village that became known the world over in 1966 when a coal waste tip slid down a mountainside and buried the village’s only primary school, killing nearly an entire generation, as well as many adults. Within hours of the disaster the village lost its privacy as the worldwide news media descended upon it, creating an archive of black-and-white images and reportage that haunts the village to this very day.

This continuing media interest has fixed Aberfan in the public eye as being synonymous with singular, tragic loss and grief. Forty years later, the village invited American artist Shimon Attie to create a work of contemporary art with them that would produce a response to and

for the world, authored and owned by the village itself. After a couple of initial research trips, Shimon came to live and work in the village for five months.

The result of this collaboration is the Attraction of Onlookers: An Anatomy of a Welsh Village. The artwork is a five-channel video installation and a body of still photographs, which are also represented in a published monograph, The Attraction of Onlookers Aberfan: An Anatomy of a Welsh Village, Shimon Attie (Attie, 2008).

Shimon invited villagers into his studio and asked them to take statutory poses that reflected their social or occupational role within the village while on an unseen slowly revolving stage. By consciously playing on iconic Welsh tropes,

Shimon endeavoured to create an artwork that presented Aberfan as a Welsh village among other Welsh villages. The fact that some of the participants may have had some connection to the disaster is deliberately not revealed in an attempt to retrieve some of the villager’s anonymity and privacy that was taken by the tragedy and subsequent media interest.

This project is an excellent example of how committed investment in artistic processes can meaningfully engage communities and produce infinite regenerative effects.

The making of the artwork has also been the subject of an hour length documentary film entitled An American in Aberfan; directed by BAFTA award winning filmmaker Christopher Morris and produced by Dai Williams and the BBC.

CASE STUDY

The Attraction of Onlookers: An Anatomy of a Welsh Village Shimon Attie

“ WHEN I AGREED TO VISIT ABERFAN FOR THE FIRST TIME … I WAS A BIT CAUTIOUS AND SCEPTICAL AS TO WHAT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE, GIVEN BOTH MY STATUS AS AN OUTSIDER AND THE ALREADY EXISTING HUGE ARCHIVE OF IMAGERY RELATED TO THE DISASTER. I STARTED SIMPLY BY LISTENING TO THE VILLAGE.” Shimon Attie, 2008

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Still from The Attraction of Onlookers, Shimon Attie, 2008.

The Heads of the Valleys Region is a unique region in Britain having experienced unprecedented industrial development in the 18th and 19th centuries together with the concurrent population explosion. The late 20th century collapse of the steel and coal industries have led to a series of regeneration initiatives to try to regain community confidence and employment.

The Welsh Assembly Government and the present Heads of the Valleys Strategy and partnerships give the best opportunity yet for sustainable regeneration. The Valleys Regional Park Initiative encourages and reinforces the commitment to environmental improvements and their integration with built and designed works.

Public Art and the work of artists and designers in many spheres of activity have been shown to contribute to a better visual environment, participation and citizenship and social regeneration, cohesion and pride.

The appendix information serves to highlight the benefits of public art and to celebrate the 1000 year history of visual art and architecture in the South Wales valleys. This is especially apparent in the many structures and buildings, some of them now disappeared but many still remaining, that are testament to previous generations of artists, designers, architects and engineers and the visionary commissioners and funders who were able to release their creativity.

Although the region is too large and too complex for this strategy to suggest artworks and artists’ intervention in all the available sites and communities, it discusses some favoured and important initiatives that are being taken and could be taken forward. These early and long-term opportunities, taken together with the aspirational list at the beginning of Section 4, and delivered by the local authorities and Heads of the Valleys Partnership, will ensure that the strategy will foster the improvements needed over the next 12 years.

The future involvement of Public Art experts and consultants will be vital to keep up the momentum of change, especially in a rapidly evolving funding context and exchanging ideas in the latest developments in contemporary visual art and design. This will ensure that the Heads of the Valleys Region is a fine place to live and work as well as a visually and culturally rich destination to visit and to return to over the years.

SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION OF THE SOUTH WALES VALLEYS CAN BE ACHIEVED USING ITS ENVIRONMENT AS THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THIS TRANSFORMATION.

PUBLIC ART AND THE WORK OF ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS IN MANY SPHERES OF ACTIVITY HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER VISUAL ENVIRONMENT, PARTICIPATION AND CITIZENSHIP AND SOCIAL REGENERATION, COHESION AND PRIDE.

CONCLUSION

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IMAGE CREDITS54 | HEADS OF THE VALLEYS PUBLIC ART STRATEGY | 55

List of images & credits

Cover & P9Glass Canopy, Martin Donlin, working closely with the architect Chris Waterworth, 2005, 116m long, steel and toughened enameled glass, Ebbw Vale. Images courtesy of Safle. Photography by Kiran Ridley.

P4Scratching Hand, Blessing Hand, Paul de Kort, 2007. At an Artists’ Visioning Day for the HoV region, in particular for the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road (see Volume II, Section 8.0, B), Paul de Kort compared the Valleys to a ‘Blessing Hand’ and a ‘Scratching Hand’. The blessing hand relates to the Brecon Beacons National Park and its unspoilt beauty, where the land formations echo the shape of an outstretched palm. The Scratching Hand is symbolic of the scarring of the landscape by mankind’s industrial interventions, as its natural resources have been dragged south to Newport and Cardiff. Image courtesy of the artist.

P5Storm King Wall, Andy Goldsworthy, 1997-1998, Site-specific sculpture created for Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson. © Andy Goldsworthy, Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York, and the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, New York.

P10Top: Werksschwimmbad, (Works swimming pool), Zollverein World Heritage Site, Essen, 2006, located in the building housing the Kokerei Zollverein, which was used to process coal until the ‘90s. For “Arbeit Essen Angst,” twenty-seven artists from around the world were invited to create artworks for the site, covering the themes of work, leisure, and fear. Two Frankfurt artists, Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic, constructed a public swimming pool by welding freight containers together to replace the public pools that the city of Essen had due to a lack of funds and thus translated the private sphere of the Kokerei into the public realm.

Bottom: Extraschicht, Zollverein World Heritage Site, Essen, 2005. Once a year the Metropolitan Ruhr District celebrates a colourful culture festival: For one night only, the ExtraSchicht festival turns active and former industrial plants into unforgettable stages for performances by international artists. Photography by Thomas Willemsen. Images courtesy of Bilddatenbank Zollverein.

P11Kohlenwäsche (Coal Washing Plant), Zollverein World Heritage Site, Essen, 2006. The Coal Washing Plant has been converted into a Visitor Centre that is the first port of call for all the visitors to Zollverein and also the starting point for many guided tours. Photography by Thomas Willemsen. Image courtesy of Bilddatenbank Zollverein.

P15Dreamtime-N218, Lilian Roosenboom, 1997, artist’s interventions in the layout and engineering of an underpass and associated roundabout, developed in partnership by the District Council of Spijkenisse and the route operator ZWN, The Netherlands. Images courtesy of the artist. Photography by Eric van Straaten.

P17 Engagement Programme with the Ministry of Kids as part of the Ebbw Vale Public Art Programme, 2003. Cardiff sculptor Nigel Talbot and Ebbw Vale artist Anthony Lynch spent a half-term week working with the Ministry of Kids at Silent Valley Nature Reserve. The group looked at lifestyles and geological patterns and worked together to create a bench that is sited permanently at the Reserve. Images courtesy of Safle and the artists.

P19Gurnos Ceramics Workshop and Examples of Participants’ Work, 2007. Image courtesy of artist Lisa Krigel.

P23 Irish Hunger Memorial, Brian Tolle, 2002, one half acre, Battery Park City, New York, NY. Designed in

collaboration with landscape architect Gail Wittwer-Laird and 1100 Architect to raise awareness of the Great Irish Famine that killed hundreds of thousands in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. Incorporating an authentically recreated 19th Century Irish cottage, the memorial is a uniquely landscaped plot made up of stones, soil and vegetation brought in from Ireland. Photography by Nicoleta Coma/Brian Tolle Studio. Image courtesy of artist.

P24Left: Fairy Tableaux, Samantha Bryan, 2007. Image courtesy of the artist.

Right: Louvres on the façade, Alison Turnbull and architects Penroye & Prasad, 2007. Photography by Lyndon Douglas. Image courtesy of the artist and Penroye and Prasad.

Bottom: Wall Painting, Yuko Shiraishi, 2007. Photography by the artist. Image courtesy of the artist and Annely Juda Fine Art.

P25 Tree Dwellers, Lucy Casson, 2007. Image courtesy of the artist.

Quote (P25) ULRICH, R. & GILPIN, L. (2003) ‘Healing arts: Nutrition for the soul’. IN FRAMPTON, S. B., GILPIN, L. & CHARMEL, P. A. (Eds.) Putting Patients First: Designing and Practicing Patient Centred Care. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.

P28Dump Truck, Wim Delvoye, 2006, 3.1 x 8.6 x 2.7 m, laser-cut corten steel, Intersezione III, Parco Archeologico de Scolacium. Image courtesy of Studio Wim Delvoye.

P29Boulder Wall, Gordon Young, 2006, Blackpool. With expert advice from British elite climber Ian Vickers, boulder wall is made from waste off cuts from

boulders and offers a 20m horizontal climb with 24 hr access. The work compliments the adjacent 20m high Blackpool Climbing Towers, also developed by Young in association with Why Not Associates and Russell Coleman, that function as signage, World-class leisure facility and sculpture. Image courtesy of artist.

P30Knockers, Ann Catrin Evans, wrought steel. Images courtesy of artist.

P31Grosvenor Gate, Shelagh Wakely, 2006, bronze entry gate for 77 Grosvenor Street, London. During the day the gate divides and folds back against amber lit panels, the design was derived from a sequence of video images of the surface of water - a reminder that the river Tyburn is culverted underground nearby. Commissioned by Grosvenor Estates and developed in collaboration with architect Sheppard Robson. Photography by John Bellars. Image courtesy of the artist.

P32 Secrets of Cardiff,Lesley Kerman, 2009. Commissioned by St David’s Partnership for the St David’s development in Cardiff City Centre, the artist created a series of varying sized resin blocks using a mixture of source material gathered from the ancient Welsh text The Mabinogion and through discussion and collaboration with local communities. Image courtesy of artist. Photography by John Melville.

P33 Grainger Town Map, Tod Hanson and Simon Watkinson, 2003, 1.2m x 1m x 0.8m, granite, bronze and LED lighting, Newcastle upon Tyne. The illuminated Map is sited opposite Central Station and poses an intriguing introduction to the city. Images courtesy of artist. Photography by Dave Williams.

P34 Genome Stripes, Sir John Sulston and Katy Hallett, 2005,

National Cycle Route 11 near Addenbrookes. Image courtesy of artist and Sustrans.

P35 Left: Spin, Nathanial Rackowe.

Right: Bell Pit, Katayoun Dowlatshahi.

Artworks commissioned as part of the Reveal project, 6-8 April 2006 that displayed new works created from light and sound in a selected area of the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail at Beechenhurst, near Coleford, Gloucestershire. Images courtesy of the artists and the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust.

P37Composer E. Tudin’s Monument, Architect Veronika Valk and Sculptor Aili Vahtrapuu, 2006. Image courtesy of the artists.

P40Left: Water Towers, Amber Hiscott and David Pearl, 2005, anodised aluminium, steel, 10m tall, Callaghan Square, Cardiff. Commissioned by Vinci Plc (City Link Cardiff Ltd) in partnership with Norwest Holst. Image courtesy of Safle and the artists. Photography by Kiran Ridley.

Right: Terracotta Quilt, David Mackie, 2003, ceramic, commissioned for the entrance of Wrexham Maelor Hospital’s Cancer and Women’s Unit, (the Shooting Star Unit). Image courtesy of artist.

P41Homeshaker, Tejo Remy, Tanja Smeets and Rene Veenhuizen, 2008, Hans Berger Clinic, The Netherlands. The artists designed a variety of structures made out of old, used blankets for sitting or lying down on, or leaning against, to create private, calm and domestic areas, where patients can linger either alone or with visitors. Image courtesy of the artists.

P42Entrance Atrium Sculpture, Clare Twomey, 2006, Great Ormond Street

Hospital. Image courtesy of the artist.

P43 Top: Southwark Station, Alexander Beleschenko, 2000, London, raised print enamel on back surface of toughened glass triangles, illuminated by natural light from a sky light during the day and with ambient artificial lighting at night, 496 panels each 13m x 40m covering 520 square metres.

Bottom: Millennium Bridge, Alexander Beleschenko, 2003, London, curved glass balustrade, lit at night by fluorescent lighting, 798 pices each 2.4m x 0.3m covering 1476 square metres.

P44 Left: St Georges Hospital, Lubna Chowdhary, 2004, London.

Right: Gyro, Lubna Chowdhary. Images courtesy of the artist.

P46The Pavillion, Dail Behennah and Childs+Sulzmann Architects, Bristol, 2006. Image courtesy of the artists.

P47White Square, 41 x 41 x 9cms diameter, White willow, silver plated pins. May 2006, Photograph by Jason Ingram. Image courtesy of the artist.

P51Still from The Attraction of Onlookers, Shimon Attie, 2008. Image courtesy of the artist.

Inside Back CoverWater Towers (detail), Amber Hiscott and David Pearl, 2005, anodised aluminium, steel, 10m tall, Callaghan Square, Cardiff. Commissioned by Vinci Plc (City Link Cardiff Ltd) in partnership with Norwest Holst. Image courtesy of Safle and the artists. Photography by Kiran Ridley.

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VISUAL CULTURE OF THE VALLEYS

Left: Watertowers, (detail), Amber Hiscott and David Pearl, 2005.