Archive - Arc

Public projects

East meets West - 23 August - 16 September 2010

This exhibition was the culmination of a project by Arc to commission two photographers - Saeed Taji Farouky and Sarah Jane Daniels, to depict the similarities and differences between the east and west areas of Hull.

Read more about this project.

West Fest - Saturday 14 August 2010

West Fest was a large community arts, music and sports festival, running from 12pm-10pm on Saturday 14 August, and was organised by Arc and Gateway as part of the regeneration of Newington St Andrew's.

The event attracted at least 5,000 people, and activities included arts and crafts workshops, over 20 live bands playing across three stages, comedy, dance and puppetry. Hull FC held penalty shoot-outs, the mini train was open for rides, and there was a variety of fairground attractions for all ages. Visitors also enjoyed a wide range of refreshments which were served throughout the day.

A bird-themed carnival parade, organised by Scrapstore and Artlink, took place at 4.30pm, to complement the aviary in West Park. This was the culmination of a fortnight of craft activities leading up to the event at which children made bird masks to wear in the parade. It was followed by a set from popular Hull-based Jam tribute band All Mod Cons.

Local businesses also got involved as they got the chance to promote their products and services to Newington St Andrew's and the wider Hull community with a variety of stalls.

Commissions + initial scoping studies 2007-2009

Arc have commissioned high-quality and well-known artists to work in Hull. Details on our successful projects to date are listed below:

• River Hull bridge and the 'boom' development

Nayan Kulkarni was commissioned following a competitive interview process where three artists; Nayan Kulkarni, Rowena Easton and Martin Richman delivered a 30-minute presentation showing recent relevant work and explaining their working method. The artists responded to a brief that asked for work that would be a visual beacon linking the new footbridge with the city centre, and provide an audio signal to indicate the opening of the footbridge.

Nayan's response was to conceive 'Virtual River': a sound piece that generates sounds from the surrounding areas. Nayan has also researched the history of the site and his findings will be introduced as text laser cut into bronze strips set in the floorscape.

• Light work for the Arc building

A full scoping study found that in order to project on to the Arc building, the projection would have to cut across either the A63 or the River Hull, which is a working river. Further work towards this project is to be carried out in 2009/2010 by the City Lights Group.

• Wilberforce

The primary aim of this project was to commission high-quality, contemporary, artist/blacksmith designed ironwork railings to adorn the basic structure of the railings between the River Hull and Hull City Council's Georgian Houses (part of Wilberforce House Museum).

• Humber Quays

'Belvedere' by Cath Campbell and Tanya Axford is an elegant, elevated platform designed to sit in the new public realm area of Humber Quays which offers viewers a chance to see the Humber from a viewpoint above the flood barrier wall.

The steps wrap around and meander between 'masts', giving the impression that they are suspended by metal ropes. This takes visual cues, particularly from the marina, and also hints at the 'crows nest' and fishing nets. The sculpture will be fabricated from painted stainless steel. The proposed dimensions are approximately: height 9m, width 4 m and depth 3m. It is proposed that the platform will be lit via external lighting fixed to the sides of buildings. The objects should be spot lit to maximize the shadows cast.

• Mapping NaSA

In March 2008 three artists were commissioned by Arc to visit the Newington and St. Andrew's neighbourhood and, after a period of research and reflection, make an artistic representation of its character. This process of subjective on-site research goes by the name 'psycho-geography', and was defined in the 1950's by the artist Guy Debord as 'the study of the specific effects of geographical environment, conscious or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals' but these days it can be cogently defined as the study of 'how a place feels'.

• Amy Johnson site - 10,000 miles to Darwin

Chris Tipping is an experienced public realm artist who has worked on many projects. In considering the project he looked at how the space was used and what level of functionality is needed in the area. The project site was formally a school (Amy Johnson) and as such there is an inherited focus on a younger generation - perhaps those that will eventually grow up on the new development - and this was a vital aspect of the project for Chris.

As a focus, Chris looked at the record-breaking flight of Amy Johnson - a local girl - from London to Darwin in the 1930s. From this groundbreaking event he drew together an approach which inspired the soft and hard landscaping and, indeed, the whole contextual interpretation of the site and objects encountered within it. As an example - the flight was undertaken over 16 stops covering 10,000 miles or so. The team are proposing to plant 16 specimen trees throughout the site to reflect the journey and the places encountered.

• West Park

Jason Bruges Studios (JBS) have been appointed to work with LDA on the transformation of West Park from a rarely-used park to a vibrant and functional city park which will lead into the city itself.

The initial stage of the work will consist of the entrance way on Anlaby Road. The proposal is that JBS will create four pillars replacing the 60s walled entrance which will each reflect its own character, from a light-emitting pillar to a colour-based pillar.

In addition to commissioning the public realm, Arc also held 'Arts in the Park' - a public celebration of West Park. A video of the day can be viewed here.

• Pulman Street climbing rock

Arc commissioned stone-carving artist Wayne Markwort to work with pupils from the 'Eco Team' at Paisley primary school. As part of a programme run by Chris Snell of Hull City Council Playbuilder, Gateway, Groundworks and Arc, these pupils have learnt all about the design process, and chiselled away with Markwort to come up with designs for the climbing rock, which is now installed on Pulman Street Community Green.

Playbuilder is a government scheme to create better play spaces in the UK, involving natural elements and engaging greater public consultation in the process. The pupils attended sessions with Gateway and Arc which were aimed at creating an understanding of the design and planning process in public realm projects. They were then prepared for interviewing the artists with whom they would later work, and given the opportunity to explore their own creativity in helping to design the rock.

The Pulman Street Community Green is part of a larger overhaul which will provide local children with better play facilities, and has been designed in consultation with local youth groups, including those that attend the Lonsdale Centre.

The renovation of Pulman Street Community Green is jointly funded by schemes run by Marks & Spencer's and Playbuilder (set up by the Department for Children Schools and Families), and by Gateway.

Seminars, debates and exhibitions

Arc has been committed to providing a public platform for discussion and learning about Public Realm, through our various events. You can read more about past activity in our learning archive.