HANDSWORTH PARK ARTS TRAIL
Following a successful temporary Arts Trail in 2015, Handsworth Creative created a permanent Arts Trail in Handsworth Park.
Handsworth Park Arts Trail was created over three years and introduced new innovative pieces of public art into the beautiful setting of Handsworth Park in Birmingham.
The Arts Trail was officially launched by distinguished local photographer, Vanley Burke on 6th October 2017. Artists were selected following an open commission and members of the local community and school children were involved in the design of the pieces of art. The Arts Trail also includes other existing pieces of art in Handsworth Park. The selection panel included representatives from Friends of Handsworth Park, Birmingham City Council and Handsworth Creative. In addition there was a series of smaller, temporary arts pieces which were mounted on the Plinth (retained after the Big Hoot in 2015) which is situated by the Boathouse Café in Handsworth Park.
Perry Barr Arts Forum was involved in helping promote the project to local artists and facilitating partnerships with local schools and community organisations. The Handsworth Park Arts Trail also worked alongside the Aston and Newtown Commissioning Programme project ‘Veranda Stories’, involving older people from Pannel Croft Extra Care Village, Bangladeshi women from Saathi House and attendees from the Dementia Café at Soho House. The overall aim was to bring original and entertaining art pieces to Handsworth. The Arts Trail is featured in Jonathan Berg’s book ‘Birmingham’s Public Art’
published in 2023.
ON THE SCULPTURE TRAIL YOU’LL FIND
The Commonwealth - Here and Now
The artwork was commissioned to mark the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. Handsworth Creative wanted something that was bright and visual; reflected the joy and pleasure people have in the park; was truly interactive; and would inspire and delight children of all ages.
Sons of Rest Mosaic
The Sons of Rest Mosaic was commissioned to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War in 2018. It celebrates the Sons of Rest Movement that was founded in Handsworth Park by veterans in 1927 and spread across the West Midlands leading to 36 Sons of Rest Buildings being created in local parks.
Veranda Stories - PYRAMID TOWER
The Pyramid Tower was based on the theme of Journeys. Artists, Pauline Bailey and Ola Brown worked with the woman participants over a number of months to facilitate an exploration of their journeys. The mandalas the women made were adapted by Pauline to produce the designs for the four-sided Pyramid Tower in 2017, which has a meditative quality to it when standing or sitting underneath and viewing the sky through the patterns in the roof of the pyramid.
Roots & Branches - Four Corners Sculpture
This sculpture uses the natural form of oak branches, carved and shaped to fit with forged, fabricated steel. The artists created four tree forms that have extended roots on the ground in steel, which can be used as seats. The inner area provides a meeting point with paths leading in and out. The combination of hot-dipped galvanised mild steel and oak wood is dramatic and stunning in the park setting.
The SS Journey
SS Journey is a representation of the bow on a ship with a passenger looking into the distance and to their future. The piece was inspired by the journey made by artist Luke Perry’s family friends who made the epic sea crossing from Jamaica to Handsworth in the 1960s, however it speaks to everyone who has come from other parts of Britain or further afield and chosen to make Handsworth their home.
The Plinth Project 2017 - 2019
Handsworth Park Arts Trail also included the ‘Plinth Project’ from 2017-2019, which were temporary pieces of artwork displayed on the Plinth in the park for two to three months at a time. This was facilitated by Scylla Magda and Perry Barr Arts Forum, enabling a large number of local artists to be actively involved in a wide range of participatory arts projects involving the local community.
Veranda Stories - The Memory Chest
Pauline Bailey
The Memory Chest was created in 2018, the anniversary of the end of the First World War and was informed by workshop activities that explored ideas around stories and letters sent home from the Trenches. Participants also explored personal stories and memories and they designed and decorated their own individual memory chests that represented their ‘symbolic treasures’.
Carved Feather Tree Trunk Seat (2015)
Graham Jones
The Bench was arrived from the trunk of a single piece of oak in 2015. The piece was commissioned as part of the first Handsworth Park Arts Trail, which included a number of temporary pieces of art work installed around the Boating Lake. The Tree Trunk Seat was inspired by a feather blowing across the grass as Graham carved the seat on site.
The Anchor (2015)
Katie Sturridge
The Anchor was originally commissioned as part of the first Handsworth Park Arts Trail in 2015. The mirror polished stainless-steel spheres are at such a height that they reflected the park multiple times to the viewer, allowing people to carefully consider the environment and surroundings they are in. The anchor is also the symbol of the Birmingham Assay Office, linking through to the City’s wider industrial heritage.
Sun Guardian Bear
Mat Barber (Goosensei)
The Sun Guardian Bear formed part of the city-wide ‘Big Sleuth’ that saw over 100 Bears displayed across Birmingham, raising money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. Mat used a graffiti style in his work and the Bear’s design is very bold with strong, clear, colourful patterns. Friends of Handsworth Park raised funds to ensure that this Big Sleuth Bear could be on permanent display in the Community Garden.
Hands and Minds Speak (2010)
Lawson Oyekan
The piece carved from Cornish Granite was installed in 2010 and was part of an art programme set up by Birmingham City Council to commission contemporary artists to make new public artworks for heritage restorations in parks across the City. The piece has been controversial since its installation and was shrouded by dense undergrowth until refurbishment of the lake in 2021.
Steel Pulse Revolution Album Cover Mural (2018)
The large mural at the entrance to Handsworth Leisure Centre was commissioned as part of Punch Records’ BASS Festival’s celebration of 50 years of Reggae and coincided with National Album Day and Black History Month.
Circle of the Year
Scylla Magda’s design is etched onto Brazilian slate and shows the winter and summer solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes; celestial events marking the transitions between the seasons. The central area has been left as a space for public interaction, with temporary chalk drawn artworks and notices, as well as pebble, leaf and flower displays being added regularly by members of the public. Commissioned by Crafting Community and funded by Arts Council England.
Victorian Drinking Fountain Canopy (Late 19th Century)
Saracen Foundry
When the park was originally opened in 1888 it was named Victoria Park. Not everyone supported the creation of a public park, however Councillor Austin Lines was a major proponent of the park and after its establishment donated the Drinking Fountain, which was made at the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow. It was originally located elsewhere in the park but was moved to its current location in the 1950s, and now no longer contains the original Drinking Fountain.