Promoting Public Art
Latest project ...
We have worked closely with Somerset West and Taunton Council and local arts organisations to generate renewed interest in public art and have participated actively in the Council’s Public Art Committee set up for the purpose. As a result of these discussions, we are now in the process of commissioning new artwork on Castle Green.
Public art commmision for Castle Green and the Museum of Somerset
Arts Taunton has commissioned Emma Smith – a multi-award-winning artist who works internationally – to create an exciting new artwork for Castle Green and the Museum of Somerset.
Emma works through public engagement and collaboration to unearth forgotten histories and imagine new futures. She was chosen for the project after a competitive selection process. She has visited Taunton, talked with residents and researched Taunton’s history – right back to the early settlements on Norton Fitzwarren hillfort.
She has created a concept proposal for the new artwork inspired by the history and future of climate change in Taunton. The work takes inspiration from the marine collections at Museum of Somerset, the long standing local expertise in flood defence from Avalon Marshes to the present day, the history of Taunton Green as a location for revolutionary thinking and the status of Taunton as a Garden Town and what this means in 2023.
The concept for the artwork is a series of sculptures sited in a variety of locations: within a wild flower meadow in the Museum of Somerset moat, in the museum courtyard and on Castle Green. The sculptures will be positioned to give a sense of them emerging from the site, making their way the moat and out into the town.
The artwork imagines a future era of environmental healing with sculptures of future species positioned to give a sense of them emerging from the site, making their way from the moat and out into the town.
The idea of the wild flower meadow is to place nature at the heart of Taunton. The meadow will actively contribute to bio-diversity in the town centre and support Taunton in promoting what it means to be a climate aware Garden Town today.
The initial stages of the project have been supported by a small grant from Somerset West and Taunton Council. We are now seeking funding for the detailed design, fabrication and installation of the artwork.
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