Public Art Trail Commission - design brief

This is an urban trail, featuring on seasonally busy streets on popular tourist destinations. Artworks might be sited along the seafront, on areas of open space that play host to festivals throughout the year, or in the heart of the town centre.

The seafront portion of the trail has seen many investments in recent years, with new lighting along Marine Parade, and large capital projects such as the Marina Centre and ongoing investment into the Winter Gardens. The summer months can see footfall of c. 500,000 people along Marine Parade.

The trail will move along Trafalgar Road towards the town, a largely residential road with a range of tourist accommodation. The road provides significant green space such as St. George's Park, where a carved sculpture of St. George's Dragon and a large war memorial are sited.

The Market Place plays a central role in the town's ambitions, it will host a new university campus and learning centre in a former department store and there is extensive landscaping planned to enhance the existing unique and historic character of the town's market square, building upon the 800 years of use and evolution for this popular town centre location. The market is hosted twice weekly, and for further special events throughout the year. Artworks in and around the market place, extending to church plain, will provide an important addition to the cultural landscape.

The final stretch of the circular route is Regent Road, a busy thoroughfare for tourists linking the seafront to the town. The addition of sculptures along this route will diversify the appeal of this busy road.

This new public art trail will contribute to the cultural offering of the town, providing key points of interests for residents and visitors alike. The circular route enables participation regardless of starting location and encourages the user the explore outside of traditional routes.

The route map can be found in Appendix 1.

An indicative locations map for each piece of artwork can be found in Appendix 2.