Erith Public Art
1. Background
In 2004 funding was secured for the Regeneration of Erith Town Centre. As part of this regeneration programme funds were set-aside for a major new Public Art Scheme. It is the first time a Public Art Scheme has been established as an integral part of a regeneration project within Bexley, and it is anticipated that it will provide the blueprint for other public art as part of further regeneration and redevelopment projects.
This new focus on public art represents a significant 'sea change' within Bexley, to reflect a growing trend in regeneration projects across the country that reconnect local communities with their environment in creative and meaningful ways.
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2. The Team
In order to deliver the project Council members formed the Art Client Group.
 Sokari Douglas Camp (CBE) is an internationally renowned sculptor. She was short-listed for the Forth Plinth in Trafalgar Square and recently featured in a Channel 4 documentary resulting in the commission of a sculpture 'The 11 th Commandment'.
Gary Drostle is an internationally known mosaic artist who has been creating Public Art in the UK and abroad since 1987.
Onya McCausland is a practising artist who has collaborated with a range of arts centres in the development and delivery of community based residencies.
Kerusha Pillay is a documentary Film Maker who has been commissioned to film the project at each phase through to the fabrication and installation of the art works.
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3. The Process
The artist's task was to develop proposals for designs that reflect the identity of Erith, reconnecting the Town with its riverside heritage and strengthening the links between its present and its social, cultural and industrial history. Following consultation a theme of 'Water' was chosen as Erith's relationship with the Thames has evolved over centuries and the significance of the river continues to shape its present.
The crucial factor in the success this project is the need for dialogue between members of the community and the people responsible for making changes to their environment. It is for this reason that a comprehensive 'Artist in Residence' Scheme was set up involving the artists selected to produce commissions for the proposed sites.
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4. The Designs
 The Mosaic Fish Sculpture ('The De Luci Pike')
On the Bronze Age Way roundabout a sculpture has been proposed showing intertwined fish. Reference has been made to the former Erith Urban District Council's coat of arms that incorporated three pikes, the symbol of the De Luci family who were local landowners in medieval Erith. The artist is Gary Drostle.
 The Earth Core Columns
The second piece is a series of 'Earth Core Columns' around the entrance to the subway to the east of the Bronze Age Way roundabout. The columns represent a time line between Erith's distant past, its development through time, recording the present and anticipating the future. The artists collaborating on this project are Gary Drostle and Onya McCausland
'Water'
The James Watt Way site offers the opportunity for a public art in association with a new building under construction. Artist Sokari Douglas Camp has proposed a sculpture to capture the character of contemporary Erith as a town characterised by a mixture of river and industry. A series of overlapping glass and steel shapes echo the waves of the river and reflect the horizontal lines of the buildings' balconies.
 'Thames Barge' - White Hart Mural
The White Hart Pub sits at the entrance to the Riverside Conservation Area. Artist Gary Drostle has produced a mural depicting a traditional Thames barge sailing towards a historically accurate Erith skyline of the early 20th Century.
Erith Playhouse - Canopy and Façade Improvements
The Erith Playhouse lies in the heart of the Riverside Conservation Area. Although originally an early cinema, the building has been extended and altered substantially and currently has a 1970s brick façade and canopy. Designs to improve access, add an extension to the foyer and develop the seating area are currently at a preliminary phase and proposals will be further developed in consultation with Cabinet Members.
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5. The Residency
 An 'Artist in Residence' scheme was designed to ensure that members of the community were consulted in the ' re-visioning' of their environment.
The scheme provides the opportunity for people to think more imaginatively about their environment and have a greater stake in it. It also enables participants to have a feeling of ownership of the final art installations.
Artist Sean Michael worked with Woodside Special Needs School.
Sally Hampson collaborated with Onya McCausland for one day at Trinity School working with St. Thomas Moore Primary School.
Beth Hannant brought knowledge and experience of model and mould making to the workshop with St Stephens at Trinity School.
The Residency Workshops
- The Youth Inclusion Project
The first group to get involved in the project were the Erith and Belvedere 'Youth Inclusion project'.
Each workshop developed the idea that by creating maps and mapping in different ways, it is possible to illustrate the way in which people use, feel in and understand their space.
'This project was an extremely important part of this Artist in Residence programme as it represented one of the 'hardest to reach' groups in the community and its success goes to the very heart of what the Erith Arts Scheme is all about, re-engaging the community with their environment and involving them fully in the current changes.'
- Onya McCausland, Artist in Residence
- The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme
 This comprised of a similar age range as the Youth Inclusion Project, and workshops initially acknowledged the youngsters commitment to expedition training, involving map reading, and an understanding of geology and geography.
Subsequent workshops led to learning mosaic making techniques in order to make a panel with a fish design. Such techniques teach students a new practical skill while opening an arena for creative expression and confidence building.
- Northumberland Primary School
Artist Gary Drostle designed a series of art projects over four days that culminated in a 30-foot wall mural in the schools main hall. The finished mural depicts layers of earth and rock formations that will form the basis of the Earth Core Columns. As part of the preparation for the mural the pupils were shown how to research and archive material on the history of the Thames.
As part of this project students were taken to the Natural History Museum on an information-gathering mission. They looked at fossils, rock formations, and dinosaur remains, building up a 'picture' of how Erith may have looked thousands of years ago. This then became the basis for further classroom activities, including the ambitious construction of a 'life size' model dinosaur.
- Primary Innovations Network
 The Primary Innovations Network are a group of Primary School Head Teachers from the Borough of Bexley who formed to gather and share resources, and plan and develop teaching strategies.
The 'Themed wheel', (illustrated), is the Primary Innovations Network design of the way in which each developmental area of the learning process for year six pupils and how these areas can be linked by a common theme or. The thinking behind this design is that if the learning process is connected and experiential across all subject areas the depth of learning achieved is greater.
The 'Artists in Residence' have been able to work together with eight of the Primary Schools involved in the development of the 'Themed Wheel' and design a series of tailor made arts projects that acknowledge areas such as 'Knowledge and Understanding', 'Personal, Social and Emotional Development', as well as 'Creative Development' while providing the artists with the opportunity to work with 450 year six pupils to produce the volume of work necessary to design the 'Earth Core Columns'.
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6. Centrepieces Mental Health Arts Project
 'Centrepieces' is an NHS supported Arts Day Centre providing support and facilities for mental heath patients living in the community. A skill-based workshop provided participants with the chance to learn a new practical technique into which their own creative ideas could be incorporated.
The art works produced from this workshop are mosaic panels incorporating various interpretations of water, with an element of text in some pieces.
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7. Erith Riverside Festival
In June 2005 the Resident Artists organised an exhibition of completed work by the Youth Inclusion Project and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme. This 'interim' exhibition was to coincide with the annual Erith Riverside Festival providing a public arena for the work achieved during the residency to date.
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8. Erith Playhouse
Erith Playhouse is an important cultural facility in the historic heart of Erith. The Residency involved volunteer members recounting their memories of Erith and the Playhouse and 'conversations' were filmed by Kerusha Pillay to form part of the documentary following the life of the Erith Arts Project.
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9. Public Art Documentary
In addition to the Artist in Residence programme, a 20-minute film has been commissioned to document the process underpinning the regeneration of Erith Town Centre and the development of the Public Art. The film will track the work of the three artists, during the residency, the design and the fabrication of each piece of work.
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10. Exhibition
As part of the installation of the public art works scheduled for spring 2006, Bexley Council will be staging a formal opening showcasing the Artist in Residence projects with a series of events and exhibitions including a screening of the project documentary film, an 'art trail', and video projections.
The full impact of the Erith Arts Project has still to be realised, as it represents a part of a huge regeneration project unfolding in Erith, a project that stems from, and is central to a government rethink about how people respond to their environment.
'My own blunt evaluation of regeneration programmes that don't have a cultural component is that they won't work. Communities have to be energised, they have to be given some hope, they have to have the creative spirit released.'
- Robert Hughes, former Chief Executive, Kirklees Council.
The Erith Arts Project represents Bexley Council's first coordinated approach that involves using public art to reinvigorate a town and compliment the wider regeneration project. The aim is to create and enhance visual reference points that reconnect the town with its historical identity and forge a contemporary 'character' that has meaning and relevance to the community.
It is hoped that the Erith Arts Scheme will act as the foundation for further Public Arts projects in Bexley. It is being used as a model to inform the boroughs wider Public Arts Strategy that is currently being developed. This Strategy aims to put "culture at the heart of regeneration", and will build on the success of the first major Public Art intervention in the borough - The Erith Arts Project.
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