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Crocheted lions, Lady Godiva, a floating island: welcome to London Olympics

UK

Chapeau : Cultural Olympiad names 12 'very British' arts projects from 2,000 submissions

Source : Culture Europe International (http://www.culture-europe-international.org)
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Rubrique : Revue de presse

du 30/10/2009 00:00 au 30/01/2010 00:00
Paris France



Texte : Par CHARLOTTE HIGGINS
The Guardian
UK
October 22th, 2009
(extracts)

A pair of 10m-high crocheted lions for Nottingham; a giant figure of Lady Godiva to be led in procession from Coventry to London; and a floating island from Svalbard, Norway, which will meander along the coast of south-west England – these are among the 12 arts commissions chosen to celebrate the London Olympic games, it was announced today.

It may all be a million miles away from the spectacular massed drummers and acrobats of the Beijing Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies, but, as the Cultural Olympiad chairman Tony Hall put it, the projects are "very British".

One of the major programmes of the Cultural Olympiad, Artists Taking the Lead invited open submissions from practitioners in any genre. Two thousand proposals were assessed by panels of artists in each region of the UK.

The 12 chosen projects – funded to the tune of £5.4m by the Arts Councils of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – will be developed over the next two years and come to fruition in 2012. (...)

For south-west England, artist Alex Hartley will bring an island – a chunk of rubble revealed from within the ice of a retreating glacier – from the Arctic. On its journey south from Svalbard, he will declare it a "micro-nation" and those interested will be allowed to apply for citizenship. "We will create a community," said Hartley. "We can even have our own Olympic team for 2016."

The coast will also form the heart of the successful project for the south-east, in which Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters will ask local people to donate a wooden object of significance to them – "a pencil, a bit of fence, a wooden leg" – from which a boat will be created, and crewed by locals.

For Wales, Marc Rees will recycle the fuselage of a DC9 aeroplane. It will travel through the country and "nest" on its way, where inhabitants will be encouraged to plan community art and sporting events around the structure. "We want it to be a snapshot of Welsh communities," said Rees. "We could have yoga classes here … I'd like the Merched Y Wawr [equivalent of the Women's Institute] to come and do tea here."(...)

Moira Sinclair, chief executive of Arts Council London, said that the works presented a new model of public art. "The active involvement of individuals and communities will be key to their success and encourage new audiences to enjoy the arts."

Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, said: 'We remain true to the ideals of the modern movement that the Olympics should be a festival of mind and a festival of body."(...)

After criticisms of the Cultural Olympiad from the arts world, the Royal Opera House chief executive Tony Hall took over as chair this summer from Jude Kelly, the artistic director of the Southbank Centre.

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Date de publication : 22/10/2009


Période traitée : 2009-10-22
Mots-clés : London Olympics, Charlotte Higgins, Cultural Olympiad, Tony Hall, Artists taking the lead, Arts Council of England, Arts Council of Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Alex Hartley, Gregg Whelan, Gary Winters, Marc Rees, Welsh communities, Moira Sinclair, Arts Council London, Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister, Royal Opera House Chief executive, Jude Kelly, artistic director of Southbank Centre,
Inséré le : 30/10/2009 16:31