Arts Development

Lyon Square public art commission

Project overview

Lyon Square is a pedestrian precinct in the heart of the Dee Park estate in west Reading. Its future will be part of major plans for the regeneration of Dee Park, but back in 1993 local residents identified a need to make Lyon Square a more attractive place and generate a sense of community. The result, completed in July 1998, was a major public art project which both transformed the physical space and involved local people in its conception, design and implementation.     

Creative practitioners/Artists

Free Form Arts Trust, with Anya Patel and Isabella Lockett www.freeform.org.uk

Partners and funders

Reading Borough Council

Dee Park Residents Association

Dee Park Youth and Community Centre

Ranikhet Primary School

National Lottery through Arts Council England  www.artscouncil.org.uk

Description

The involvement of local residents was key to the success of this project. Reading Borough Council worked in partnership with the Dee Park Residents Association on all aspects of the project including the selection of artists, fundraising, outline and detailed design.

In 1993 Free Form Arts Trust were appointed to manage the scheme, and started by carrying out extensive consultation, research and feasibility with residents. This process resulted in proposals for an ambitious programme of improvements to Lyon Square. Funding from Reading Borough Council enabled the first phase of works to get underway and by January 1995 features including a decorative archway by artist Anya Patel, new seats, paving and mosaic features were completed.  After a long period of fundraising, the second phase started in 1997 with the award of a National Lottery grant from the Arts Council of England. Phase 2 included an amphitheatre by artist Isabella Lockett, new planting, lighting, paving and a sculpture by Anya Patel.

Many elements of the scheme were created through a collaboration between the artists and residents. Young people from Ranikhet Primary School and Dee Park Youth and Community Centre took a particularly active role in the project and worked with artists Anya Patel and Isabella Lockett on the designs for the archway, mosaics, amphitheatre and paving. Other residents contributed through open days, design days and exhibitions, or simply telling their stories about life in Dee Park.

The artworks reflect the historical link that Dee Park has with the pottery industry, providing clay for tiles and brick-making as far back as 1830. Many Dee Park residents still remember the clay pits and the bucket conveyor belts which characterised the area. These memories and other aspects of local history provided the artists with inspiration and references for elements of the project. Anya Patel said:

“The designs for the sculpture derive directly from the mechanical and technical drawings for the conveyor belts which used to carry clay across Dee Park. I have modernised mechanical objects such as coils, wheels, buckets and conveyor belts and composed them into a challenging and innovative form. The words etched into the sculpture reflect a similar kind of optimism akin to the heyday of the pottery industry period.”