Digbeth Public Art Project (DPAP)
Artists. Dave Sherry. Rob Colbourne. Stuart Mugridge. Mathew Beckett.
Client. National Express
Digbeth Public Art Project – Short film documenting the 18 months project, produced by EC-Arts, Directed and edited by Mathew Beckett.
DPAP was written and produced by Claire Farrell of EC-Arts as part of the redevelopment of the National Express Coach Station which aimed to enhance visitor experiences. The £450,000 strategy includes artist commissions ‘Boundary’ (Rob Colbourne and Stuart Mugridge), ‘Irish Quarter Visual Artwork’ (Dave Sherry) and ‘Short Film’ (Mat Beckett). The project team worked closely with Birmingham City Council and was an integral part of the cities regeneration aspirations. Digbeth Public Art Project was the 2009 winner of the Jaguar Land Rover Arts & Business Award.
The realisation of the two iconic artworks has been the result of an in-depth, two-year research project in which all the artists involved looked closely at the historical and cultural traditions of the area, in order to produce innovative artworks that serve to symbolise and herald the importance of Digbeth Coach Station as a gateway to Birmingham.
Through artist collaboration and consultation with the local community, the projects design process was both guided and informed by the residents of Birmingham. Creating public art that truly encompasses and reflects the diverse nature of the city itself. The final installations serve to evoke a sense of place and pride within Birmingham’s residents, celebrating the cultural identity and rich heritage unique to Digbeth whilst the universality of the artwork also allows it to reach out and speak to new audiences.
Every year the Digbeth Coach Station receives 1.6 million passengers to Birmingham through its gates. The DPAP installations will provide the area with a strong visual identity, creating a lasting impression of the city as innovative and progressive. The project was inspired by Birmingham’s Big City Plan and is a huge landmark for the future of the city centre’s regeneration and redevelopment. The collaborative artworks are testament to the creative and enterprising nature of the area, improving the aesthetic reputation of Birmingham by investing in the city’s art and culture.
Boundary.
Artists. Rob Colbourne and Stuart Mugridge
Design Team. SBS Architects, ACIES, XtraWeld, EDCM and Goring Berry
Boundary – the 623ft long fence which spans the perimeter of Digbeth Coach Station comprising of 320 steel panels varying in height from 7ft to 20ft is public art with both form and function.
Commissioned artists Rob Colbourne and Stuart Mugridge describe it as a ‘fencescape’ – in that is not ‘one object’ but an array of related features, or a landscape of relations. Individually the separate components of the fence provoke a sense of intrigue but as a whole it embodies all that the site is and was. It is not the object itself but the experience it provides that really reveals the aesthetic beauty of ’Boundary’.
The design concept for the fence was developed following extensive community engagement and historical research. The overarching theme taken from this process was one of ‘balance and flow’ – balancing the identity of the existing communities with the flow of visitors and changing landscape through regeneration. Echoing W & T Avery’s forms of a 19th century weighbridge the site, in effect, becomes a weighbridge as it is a place where people are loaded and offloaded – a place of transition and flow. Approaching the fence at some angles it appears solid, whilst at others gaps open up between the haunches, seemingly reacting to the movements of individuals as they walk around and change direction. The unidirectionality of the L plate haunches serve to create this sense of ‘motion parallax’, which in turn echoes the language of transportation, evoking symbols of travel and transition.
Irish Quarter Visual Artwork.
Artist. Dave Sherry
Design Team. Glenn Howells Architects, Irish Quarter Partnership and Central Signs
The Irish Quarter Visual Artwork’ greets visitors with ‘A Hundred thousand welcomes, it is the first iconic visual representation of the Irish Quarter in Birmingham. The artwork designed by artist Dave Sherry – a 10.7m by 7.5m installation made by Central Signs, is a new innovative fully recycled G57 manmade composite.
Commissioned Irish artist Dave Sherry, works with a range of artforms and exhibits his work in galleries around the world, including a recent exhibition at the Ikon Galery in Birmingham. Dave’s text installation’s intention was to give the passengers arriving at the coach station ‘the biggest possible Irish welcome’ to the city. The origin of the phrase ‘A hundred thousand welcomes’ is taken from the Gaelic saying ‘Cead mile failte’ and as the first thing that visitors will witness when entering Digbeth Coach Station the installation can be seen as a greeting to those returning to the city or arriving for the first time. The translation of the phrase has an international appeal which excludes no one whilst also retaining the feel for the renowned Irish spirit of welcoming and friendliness.
The design concept for the artwork was developed following extensive research and community consultation. The reddish brown colour featured on the background panel was chosen due to its connection with both the Irish rural landscape and the exposed brick buildings that typify Digbeth’s rich industry and Birmingham’s Industrial heritage as a whole.
The handwriting that appears on the installation is that of Digbeth resident Sister Sabina MBE who is known for her outstanding work with the homeless. She is the founder of ‘Fireside’ – a charity set up for socially excluded or disadvantaged groups that addresses issues of alcohol use and homelessness whilst helping to empower and support people to make positive changes in their lifestyles. Sister Sabina’s handwriting was picked by a panel of creatives following the community event ‘Digbeth Public Art Project‘ at which members of the public were asked to pen the phrase in their own writing. In this way the ‘Irish Quarter Visual Artwork’ can be seen as a truly collaborative achievement whereby artist and community members have come together to create a landmark piece of art which encapsulates both the cultural history and vitality of the area.
Short Film.
Audiovisual Artist. Mat Beckett
Production team. Haroon Adil. Mohammed Atif. Sikander Najib. Mohammed Shoaib
‘Short Film’ – this short audio visual piece is the first documentary footage on this area to enter the Birmingham archives, providing an incomparable record of this unique art project at the heart of Digbeth’s regeneration for years to come.
Commissioned audiovisual artist Mat Beckett worked with a group of young people from Aston, Birmingham who helped him with the film making process, which aimed to capture the unique and energising developments in Digbeth in a visual form. The group were sponsored by National Express in order to achieve their Silver Arts Award.
The film details the process of the Digbeth Public Art Project over the 2-year period including artist interviews, workshops and community events as well as the fabrication and installation of the artworks. The footage features a timelapse of the coach station build – which can also be viewed as a stand-alone piece – capturing the main part of the redevelopment. The film will become a permanent digital media installation within the coach station, increasing passenger awareness of the public art project whilst also providing visitors with an invaluable insight into the public art process.
The timelapse camera was positioned on the site for 1 year in order to document the construction and development process. Over 12 months the camera took 1 photo every 2 minuets, 30 photos per hour, 720 photos per day, 5,040 photos per week and 262,080 photos over the entire year as the coach station site was transformed each passing day and night.
You can view the Short Film by clicking - here DPAP Short Film
or watch the timelapse video here
Sponsors. National Express. Arts Council England. Birmingham City Council. EBNS. South Birmingham College.
