Could you design an inspiring piece of public art for a new park in Cambridge?
Developers First Base and investors RPMI Railpen (Railpen) will be calling for local artists to tender for a range of opportunities to create public art that will celebrate local character and creativity at Devonshire Gardens.
The proposed new development includes new homes, workspace and community amenities. The highly sustainable plans include a new park, new trees, ornamental and edible plants, support for wildlife and will be net zero ready. New locally-inspired public art will help to showcase and establish this exciting new space along Devonshire Road, situated between Mill Road and Cambridge Station.
A locally delivered public art programme will also respond to consultation feedback, requesting new local spaces for art to be created and exhibited. Public art can take a number of forms; through murals, sculptures and even lighting and creative wayfinding. Art of all kinds will be embraced, whether digitally-led, or performance space for drama, dance or music.
The arts programme will combine three elements to ensure a lasting impact and ongoing community engagement. The first element will feature a large focal art piece that will be situated in a central location at the park. The second will be a series of smaller site wide art installations. For the first two elements of the programme, First Base will commission two local artists to create the outdoor artworks to be installed to the site during construction.
The final element of the art programme will be the appointment of a local artist as artist-in-residence, to work with local groups in raising awareness of and participation in public art.
Douglas Higgins, Project Director, First Base, said:
“Devonshire Gardens is situated within a very creative corner of Cambridge, so we’re lucky to have a pool of creative talent on our doorstep! We will be looking to showcase this diverse and independent local spirit.
“A locally-led public art programme will enable us to embrace the site’s heritage and sense of place through inspirational design and I look forward to working with local artists to bring their creative visions to life within Devonshire Gardens.”
Jane Rich, Founder and CEO, Cambridge Community Arts, said:
“I’m delighted to see First Base and Railpen’s commitment to public art, which is something we’ve been strongly advocating for throughout our engagement with the development proposals. We support these plans and we are glad we’ve been listened to!
“Set in an incredibly creative community, Devonshire Gardens has the ability to showcase local talent and creativity, providing physical space for art to be created and exhibited, as well as incredibly well-designed social spaces for local art to be embraced and appreciated by the community.”
In August, plans for the Devonshire Gardens site were submitted; the current 3-acre brownfield site will be transformed into a mixed-used community space with apartments, office space and community space, which will include a messy space for artists to hire and gallery space to showcase artwork.
First Base invites those wishing to express early interest in the art competition to share their contact information with debra.fisher@consciouscomms.com.