Photo de forsakenarchitecture
QUESTIONS and Tees Valley Regenerations answers on the Tees Valley Giants:
Q. What are the Tees Valley Giants?
A. The Tees Valley Giants is a series of five pieces of art commissioned by TVR. It will be the biggest public art project in the world. There will be one piece in each of the Tees Valleys five boroughs – Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton.
Q. What will the five pieces look like?
A. Each piece will be designed to reflect the area in which it is located, but will also follow a theme to link them all together. The first unveiled is Temenos, on Middlehaven in Middlesbrough.
Q. How long will they take to build?
A. It is expected to take about 10 years to complete all five pieces.
Q. How much will the Giants cost?
A. The series will cost £15m.
Q. Where is the money coming from to build the Tees Valley Giants?
A. It is coming from both public and private sources. In the case of Temenos funding is coming from Northern Rock Foundation, Arts Council England, The Northern Way, ONE North East, Middlesbrough Football Club and BioRegional Quintain.
Q. Why is so much money being spent on public art in Middlesbrough?
A. Any public money comes from cash set aside specifically for art in the UK. It cannot be spent on hospitals, housing or roads. If it was not spent on this project it would not come to the Tees Valley at all. We aim to attract as much money as possible to the area, therefore changing the perception of the Tees Valley. This initiative is about securing our share of money available and making a difference to the quality of life in this area.
Q. Who are Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond?
A. They are two of the most influential people in the art world Anish is behind the 9/11 memorial at Ground Zero in New York and Cecil is working on the new CCTV building in Beijing.
Q. Why not give the job to a local artist or an up and coming artist from the region?
A. This is a huge project for the Tees Valley and the aim is to create a world-class series of art instalments. Tees Valley Giants is about encouraging people from around the world to take a closer look at this area. We need internationally-recognised artists to do that.
Q. How can sculptures add to the financial success of the region?
A. Public art on this scale will attract cultural tourists and will show that the region is vibrant, culturally aware, up and coming, ambitious and successful. All of that can have an effect when businesses make decisions about where to locate and affect where individuals choose to live and work. They can often be drawn to a place because it is seen as go-ahead, confident and assured.
Q. How can public art on this scale improve the quality of life locally?
A. Theres a feel-good factor about sculptures on this scale that can get people talking, not just here but all over the UK. They can change perceptions about a place, create a dynamic image, and boost confidence. They shout this is a region going places and say we are proud to live and invest in our community.
Q. Why is the first one sited in Middlesbrough?
A. It makes sense to start at Middlehaven, which will be the first of TVRs key developments to be populated.
Q. What does Temenos mean?
A. The word is Greek and means to cut. It particularly relates to a piece of land that is cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially of kings, or a piece of land marked off from common use and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or precinct.
Q. What will the other Giants look like?
A. The designs for the other giants are not finalised, but they will each reflect their location yet also follow a theme linking them together as one installation.
Q. When can we expect to see the next of the Tees Valley Giants?
A. TVR is working to secure the funding for the next piece. It will be completely different in nature to the Middlehaven commission but just as exciting.
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