The Canal & River Trust has announced a programme of contemporary art commissions aimed at challenging the public’s perceptions of Britain’s 200 year-old waterways.
The projects are part of the Arts on the Waterways programme and include sculpture, music, sound art, poetry and cinema. A sculpture trail launched by Megan Piper and Clive Dutton, with support from Mark Wallinger, will connect the Olympic Park with The O2, while a £2million programme of art will sit along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.
In addition, poet Jo Bell will be the 2014 Canal Laureate. Appointed by the Canal & River Trust and the Poetry Society, she will create poems that share new perspectives on Britain’s historic waterways while also marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the Stratford Canal.
Ikon Gallery in Birmingham have also launched Black Country Voyage, inviting young people aged 15-19 to follow the routes of a hidden local canal system and create artistic interventions in collaboration with professional artists.
Tony Hales, chairman of the Canal & River Trust, said: “For the Canal & River Trust, this is about finding creative new ways to introduce more people to the waterways as visitors and supporters while also, we hope, surprising and delighting existing communities.”
The programme is supported by Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Wales. Since the first Arts on the Waterways was launched in 2012, 115 artists have contributed commissioned art, and over 100,000 people – including volunteers and local community groups – have been involved in its activities.
For more information visit canalrivertrust.org.uk
