SHINFIELD Parish Council, keen to promote the arts for its residents and to celebrate the parish’s growth, is preparing the way for a new piece of public art for the benefit of the community.
To help the council achieve its aims it has asked Arts 4Wokingham (A4W) to assist with the project.
This month, Bruce Winton, chief executive and clerk to Shinfield Parish Council, and Charlotte Haitham Taylor, chair of Arts4Wokingham, signed an agreement for A4W to advise and consult on selecting and installing a new piece of public art, to take prime position near the council’s new School Green Centre in Shinfield.
Bruce Winton said: “Shinfield is a very exciting place to live at the moment.
“We’ve grown dramatically in recent years, and have forged important links with Shinfield Studios and the British Museum, which now stores artifacts and conducts research in the parish.
“And The Natural History Museum and The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew are next in line to join us too, making this a really amazing place to live and work.
“To celebrate, we want to enhance the lives of our residents with a piece of new modern art.”
Bruce says the council is open to allowing potential artists freedom of expression in the piece, which he says should primarily point towards the future.
He previously spent 11 years as Head of Operations for Winchester Cathedral, where he says pieces of modern art have been installed with great success within the 900 year old building.
“In Shinfield we’ve been investing heavily in sport recently,” he said.
“But we know it isn’t for everyone, so this year we also set up an Arts, Culture and Events Committee to devote time to the arts too.
“Already we have a new cinema for residents in the School Green Centre, and we’ll be holding an art exhibition of 56 artists’ work in February, with proceeds from the event going towards our new public art project.
“We want a new installation to reflect the exciting place that Shinfield is, and to look towards the future, rather than dwelling on the past.”
Charlotte Haitham Taylor said: “Arts4Wokingham is delighted to be working in collaboration with Shinfield Parish Council to help them deliver a new piece of sculpture for their new School Green Centre.
“We’re very excited about the project and look forward to starting the process with them, with the first step being a competition to discover the artist who will create this wonderful new piece of public art.”
A4W is a charity whose sole aim is to champion the generation of public art within Wokingham Borough, encourage a portfolio of works and invite the community to engage creatively.
It already has its own exciting public art project – an impressive trio of stencilled steel arches, The Arc, designed by artist Nicola Anthony, planned for installation outside Wokingham’s Carnival Hub, the model for which can be seen at the entrance to Wokingham Library.
For information, visit: shinfieldparish.gov.uk and: arts4wokingham.com
