Artwork was created in two city centre streets today [Sunday 25 October], to celebrate that Norwich is doing all it can to ensure the city is safe and remains a cultural destination.
Locally based artists – Amy Fellows and Gina Patch – worked alongside screevers (pavement artists) Urban Canvas to create temporary motifs on Exchange Street and Westlegate that capture the ‘City of Stories’ theme. These new pieces complement the wider Norwich BID urban art project which sees the city come to life with 12 small-scale market sites and eight large scale city murals, all exploring the same theme of history and culture.
Commissioned by Norwich City Council and Norwich BID, the art is a powerful visual display that the city remains resilient and vibrant, while also giving a much-needed boost to artists at a time when the cultural sector – like so many – has been suffering. The final artworks are one-of-a-kind, bespoke pieces of work, amplifying the city’s artistic reputation.
Stefan Gurney, executive director at the BID said:
“We’re delighted to be collaborating with Norwich City Council to bring more art into the centre of the city, in these immersive temporary installations, marking a moment in time for Norwich. Our urban art projects have been a fantastic way to celebrate the creative heritage of our city, and showcase the amazing local artistic talent.”
The areas were chosen as it ties into measures the city and county council have worked together on to provide space for pedestrians – the pedestrianisation of Westlegate in 2017 and the traffic restrictions put in place this summer on Exchange and St Benedicts Streets to widen the area given to those walking and cycling to move about.
The feeling of space is something especially important to help give confidence to people at a time where there’s a need to maintain a good distance from others.
Councillor Mike Stonard, cabinet member for
"Businesses in the city have, like everyone, felt the very real impact of the last difficult months, with further challenges ahead.
We applaud the hard work of everyone to keep visitors, customers and workers safe and want to send out the message loud and clear that the city is resilient. This is a very difficult time, but by working together, we can keep our city safe and vibrant.”
You might have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the artworks as they were being created, otherwise keep an eye out when you’re visiting the area. We will make sure as many people as possible get to see the work through our social media accounts, so do give them a follow.
Instagram:
Funding:
This project has been funded by the Norfolk Strategic Fund as part of its Tourism Support Package.
The Norfolk Strategic Fund is a £6.75m fund to provide funding for Norfolk local authority / NALEP led projects aimed at supporting the County to recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic through specific targeted projects or by bringing forward the delivery of key infrastructure.
The £2.225m Tourism Sector Support Package is the first project to be approved from the Fund and is a project led by Norfolk County Council on behalf of the partners in the New Anglia Visitor Economy Group: Norfolk County Council, Breckland Council, Broadland Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, North Norfolk District Council, Norwich City Council, South Norfolk Council, Visit East of England and New Anglia LEP.
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