The Swansea Boulevard & Waterfront Connections Public Art Framework sets out an ambitious framework for a programme of engaging and relevant public art interventions along the 1.5 km Boulevard corridor and on the linkage to Meridian Quay. These works are suggested to encourage exploration of the City Centre, to emphasise key locations, and to help create memorable experiences of the City that people want to return to.

Addo were commissioned in December 2012 to review the Framework Document and develop and curate an initials series of public art commissions through the Framework, as part of the wider Boulevard Scheme.

This has resulted in a programme of 4 commissions being awarded to 4 artists:

1.  Wind Street Crossing Commission

A part-time residency based at Mission Gallery leading to a permanent external commission in the Wind Street Crossing area has been awarded to Aberrant Architecture, a multi-disciplinary studio and think-tank that operates internationally in the fields of architecture, art, design and cultural analysis.

From their London Studio, they strive to capture the best of the past and the contemporary in order to shape the future of the designed world and have established a reputation for our playful, provocative and interactive projects that use architecture and design to introduce new and unexpected ways of experiencing the world, winning D&AD and Design Week awards for their work in 2012 and 2013.

In 2010 Aberrant were architecture residents at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and in the same year co-founded The Gopher Hole, a gallery/venue in London, which, through a public exhibition and talks programme, provides a platform for critical debate on the arts and society.  In 2012 we were selected to exhibit in the British Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale.

The directors of aberrant architecture, David Chambers (originally from Swansea) and Kevin Haley, are committed to developing architectural culture through practice as well as through design research at educational institutions such as London Metropolitan University and Central St Martins.  In response to being awarded the commission, David and Kevin have said:

One hundred years after the birth of poet Dylan Thomas, Swansea’s most famous son, we are delighted to be designing a permanent public art piece at the heart of the city. But for better and for worse a city can develop a reputation for one or two things. Thus, from the outset, we are determined to show off other aspects of Wales’ second city.

2.  LC Corner Commission

A permanent commission to enhance the north elevation of the LC Building opposite Princess Way has been awarded to Assemble, an art, design and architecture practice working on projects across the UK. Founded by a collective of 18 members, Assemble’s work covers a broad range of disciplines, and interests.

At the heart of their working practice is a belief in the importance of addressing the typical disconnect between the public and the process by which spaces are made. Assemble champion a working practice that is interdependent and collaborative, seeking to actively involve the public as both participant and accomplice in the on-going realisation of the work.  Assemble take a hands-on approach to design, believing that a nuanced understanding of how things are made inspires us all to engage more directly with the problems and possibilities of the real world. They use the process of construction to test ideas on site, at scale, and through this aspire to create unexpected, resourceful and imaginative uses of materials and spaces.  In response to being awarded the commission, Assemble has said:

We’re humbled to be given this opportunity to work with such a well-loved and used building. We look forward to working with everyone in Swansea to make an exciting addition to the LC which both suits and improves this local landmark.

3.  Museum Park Screen Commission

A commission to design and produce twin-leaf access gates to the Museum Park events space has been awarded to West Wales-based design duo Freshwest, who aim to make “objects of intrigue and fascination, objects to make you stop, smile and consider”.  

After graduating with first class honours in fine art in 2000, both Marcus Beck and Simon Macro separately began the transition from their fine art roots to the design arena.  Simon worked with renowned designer Thomas Heatherwick, while Marcus began to produce a series of experimental furniture pieces.  Having known each other since childhood, and sharing the same creative ideals Marcus and Simon combined to establish Freshwest in 2006.  By 2007 Freshwest had won their first Elle Deco Design Award and in 2009 gain international recognition when their celebrated Brave New World Lamp was launched by Marcel Wanders’s design company MOOOI.  Their work often involves a sculptural response to materials, designing and prototyping objects without a preconceived design in place. Much of there work contains a narrative or plays on scale offering the observer a sense of discovery and intrigue.  In response to being awarded the commission, Freshwest has said:

The Boulevard & Waterfront Connections team have done a great job in bringing together a forward thinking and energetic collection of artist and designers, we are honoured to be a part of this and are looking forward to working closely with the team to deliver something really special for Swansea.

4.  Waterfront Connections Commission

A commission to work with the Project Team to create [a] permanent art intervention[s] to enhance Paxton Street Tunnel and Meridian Quay and the route between the two destinations has been awarded to American-born artist William Dennisuk, who has been based in Finland since the 1990s.

William’s portfolio includes work that links the worlds of sculpture, landscape and architecture, including permanent interventions in Finland, Holland, Ireland, Japan and the United States.  William is the head of the Environmental Art Studies Program at Saimaa University in eastern Finland. He is also a lecturer and adviser for the master’s program in Environmental Art at Aalto University in Helsinki.  For William:

Art is a form of aesthetic and philosophical inquiry, a way of asking fundamental questions about the world in which we live and about our human potential. My work is neither concerned with objects per se, nor does it simply delineate a set of relationships between objects and their surroundings. Rather, it is concerned with the manner in which we experience and interact with the world as an ongoing interplay between objects and their context and our senses, as well as the intangible or enigmatic processes and dimensions of the world that extend beyond our senses.  I am looking forward to working in Swansea. The aim of the Boulevard and Waterfront Connections project, to link the city centre to the seafront, embodies my own belief that art in public spaces should be a conduit or pivot for wider references and experiences, and not simply as an isolated object with its own internal logic.

 

For further information, please contact: sarah@addocreative.com