This was London 2012's '$Artists Taking the Lead' – one of the Cultural Olympiad’s major projects, and the 12 winning groups of artists were selected from more than 2,000 submissions from all over the UK, and in just about every art form.
Already and inevitably there is a debate about the winners – and let’s cheer on that debate. What use is art if it doesn’t stir the emotions and the grey matter?
Which commission will best stand the test of time? Which most defines public art in an era when, as one artist said 'a bronze statue ignored for decades in the corner of a shopping centre is no legacy'? Which most defines the spirit of the London 2012 Games?
There can be little doubt about the boldness, the creativity and the impact that these 12 programmes of art, events and participation will have. Some will amaze, some will raise difficult questions and some will simply raise a smile. As Moira Sinclair, the project’s leader from Arts Council England, said, 'Even in these tough times, there is a vibrancy and excitement in the UK’s cultural sector which makes it the envy of the world.'
The UK Arts Council’s investment totalling some £6 million will result in projects that will involve many thousands of people in the creation of projects that will be enjoyed by millions. From world famous sculptors, choreographers and musicians to technologists, crafts people and legions of community volunteers, these 12 celebrations of the spirit of the 2012 Games will be a fascinating litmus test of the UK’s creative sector.
We’ll all have our favourites, and most of us will be challenged by some – and both responses are important.
Personally I can’t wait to see the man-made geyser that will project a shaft of illuminated hot air into the sky above Birkenhead (the North West’s winner, “Projected Column” by Anthony McCall).
But I know that the South West’s “nowhereisland”, in which Alex Harley and his team will import a whole island from the Arctic to the coast of England, will force me to think hard about issues of national identify, sustainability and ownership.
I love the cheek and ingenuity of London’s winning idea, “Bus Tops”, which puts video screens on the top of the capital’s bus stops on which artists and the public can create messages, images and pictures to delight or distract millions of top deck bus travellers.
In Northern Ireland I was thrilled to see that composer, Brian Irvine, has followed up his earlier Cultural Olympiad project, Pied Piper, with an inventive project called “The Nest”. In it which he invites everyone to contribute objects which define the community and which Irvine and his collaborator John Mcllduff will then draw on for a large scale choral event.
With happy memories of the Sultan’s Elephant in London or Liverpool’s “La Machine”, I can’t wait to see the West Midland’s “Godiva Awakes”, and I could go on…. To pick your own favourites or the ones that make you think most, check out the details here.
And a special word of thanks is due, not just to the many artists who took part – and not only to the winners but the many more who eventually will see other great ideas realised – but to the Arts Councils of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Not only did they invest significantly in this project, but they took the bold decision to deliver a project in which the Artist really is in the lead. Arts Councils of EnglandWalesScotland
Not only are all the commissions led directly by artists and their ideas, but the decisions about the commissions were made not by bureaucrats or by grandees from culture’s upper echelons or by London 2012’s Organising Committee, but by regional groups of artists and producers.
Now we look forward to seeing the projects emerge and animate every part of the UK in celebration of London 2012. Bring on the art and join the debate…..
