Luton Culture is delighted to have been awarded £375,000 by Arts Council England’s Luton Investment Programme to develop a programme of public art entitled ‘As You Change, So Do I’.
Marie Kirbyshaw, Chief Executive of Luton Culture, said “We are thrilled that we have been awarded the funding for this project which will showcase local and international artistic talent in central Luton. It was a real team effort putting the application together and we will be equally collaborative in the way we deliver it.”
Luton Culture will deliver an experimental programme of public realm arts and animation designed to generate involvement, participation and debate. As part of this, locally-born artist and Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchner will be developing a large-scale new work for The Hat Factory Arts Centre gable-end which will engage thousands of passers-by every day and provide a beacon to promote Luton. The project will include artist residencies, outdoor projections and billboard-art to animate the streets and empty buildings. Initially focusing on the cultural quarter within Luton, the visual arts led programme will grow over the three years to impact on a wider geography. Luton Culture is working in partnership with artist Mark Titchner and curators Matthew Shaul from the Departure Lounge and Andrew Hunt to involve local people and artists in the development of a long-term approach to public realm commissioning.
Mark Titchner, lead artist for the project said “I’m extremely excited to have opportunity to create a major new artwork for Luton and its people. I hope the final piece will inspire those who see it every day and become a symbol of positive aspiration for Luton, its residents and its visitors.”
‘As You Change, So Do I’ will provide memories, careers, confidence, self-reliance, skills, friendships, partnerships, history, new funding and long-lasting platforms for artists and cultural audiences. And, as Mark Titchner describes in his lead artist paper, will ‘embed a positive new artistic identity for the town within the fabric of day-to-day life.’
