Lightbox project 4

The new exhibition has been installed in London's most original and inspiring outdoor community art venue. The venue is the side of a multi-storey car park. It may not sound like much of a place to display art but that's what makes it unique. The artwork is displayed in five illuminated lightboxes that overlook Guy Street Park, a community open space near Guy's Hospital.

During the summer artist Kate Allen ran six workshops with 23 teenagers from Charterhouse-in-Southwark's young people's centre. The workshops looked at how the young people were influenced by advertising from magazines and billboards. They then produced hundreds of drawings, photos and collages that expressed their lives and aspirations. Kate then distilled the students' artwork into five pieces of art that can now be seen in the lightboxes in the park until September 2007.

Background to the Lightbox project

The 'Lightbox' concept came from local artist Mark Haywood. The lightboxes of community artwork are a way of fostering pride in the local community whilst the lightboxes themselves provide interesting additional lighting in the park to reduce the fear of crime and beautify what would otherwise by a dull wall of a car park. The lightboxes were installed in 2003 as part of the PLP project to renovate the whole of Guy Street Park which involved providing: a new playground for older children, picnic area and seating, new multi-court play area, new bins and community noticeboard, new community garden, new footpath and relocated entrances and new pedestrian road crossings to encourage people to use the park as a safe walking route.

Concept

The lightbox project has gained immense support from a very diverse community and is still fundamentally a very simple idea - to get high quality artists working with the community to produce high quality artwork that is relevant to the community. Five back lit advertising billboards will be installed on two floors of the NCP car park, over looking Guy Street Park. Rather than displaying advertisements the billboards will display specially commissioned artwork that has been made in consultation with different target groups that make up the local community.

There have been three previous exhibitions;

Annie Whiles : Spring project : May 2003- July 2003

Marq Kearey : Summer : July 2003 - July2004

Mark Haywood : Winter : July 2004 - 2005

for more information check out their web pages by clicking on buttons above.

The project will continue until 2008 with new artists being commissioned each year. In addition the three London plane trees that run along the boundary between the park and car park will be up lit. These lights have been designed to change colour with the seasons and to harmonise the natural and built environment. The aims of the lightbox project are:

1. Improve the boundary between Guy Street Park and the adjacent NCP multi-storey car park.
2. Create an artwork that is relevant to the local community and surrounding area.
3. Harmonise the natural environment of the park with the built environment of the car park.
4. Make people feel safe walking through the park with additional lighting.
5. Provide an alternative art venue where the local community can have input.

Consultation

Two public consultation events were held at Bermondsey Village Hall on Wednesday 23rd and Saturday 26th January 2002. Here are just a few of the many enthusiastic responses.

I think its a very good idea and could become a local landmark - Local male resident .

The light boxes are a brilliant idea; I would also like to see text, quotations and video. Kinetic art with colours moving, shadows & light, at sunset you could have 2 minutes of nice sound. No advertising please! - Local female resident.

An excellent idea, particularly like designs that make the car park frontage more dramatic rather than trying to make it more "attractive", would love to have an outdoor cinema that could screen films on the high wall! - Local male resident.

People saw the project as a community notice board that had the potential to become a conduit to connect the diverse community. It was also felt that because the artworks would regularly change it would continue to have a relevance to the community. Events such as the revealing of new works would be a great cause for celebration that will be totally inclusive.

Commissioning the artwork

Funding