Telling Tales: Landmark
Project Title:
Telling Tales: Landmark
Project Location:
Rowley Regis
Date of Project:
December 2007 - August 2008
Project Participants:
- Rowley Regis Town Team
- Rowley Regis Residents
- Corngreaves Primary School
- St Michael’s C of E High School
- Tividale Community Arts College
- Art in Mind
- Haden Hill House
Artist:
Planet Art
Project Funders:
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Sandwell Partnership
Sandwell MBC
Project Overview:
Nearly every street in the West Midlands was once paved with Rowley Rag, an extremely hard rock which has, for centuries, been quarried from the Rowley Hills. The highest point of the hills is the summit of Turner’s Hill (known locally as Cloudland); standing at 876 feet above sea level, it offers a unique vista across the whole of the borough and the region.
The Rowley Regis Town Team wanted to commission a sculpture to put Rowley Regis on the map and celebrate its heritage and its people. Working with experienced public artists, Planet Art, Multistory ran workshops with local councillors; children from Corngreaves Primary School and St Michael’s C of E High School; sixth formers from Tividale Community Arts College; plus faith groups; over 60s’ groups and Rowley’s Art in Mind group to develop ideas for the design and fabrication of a site specific piece of public artwork that celebrated the stories, history and heritage of the local area.
Planet Art worked with the town’s businesses and industries to source local materials to make the sculpture out of. Five different designs inspired by the conversations and workshops were then put up for the public vote at a special two-day community event held at Haden Hill House.
‘Tales of Rowley’ was the overwhelming public choice and it has now been installed as a series of permanent sculptures on Rowley Hill offering fantastic views of the Black Country and the green space that the area has to offer. Located just off East Avenue, the sculptures are made from Rowley Rag, cast iron and bronze and feature scenes of mining, nail making, quarrying and chain making.
Below are a selection of images from at the Telling Tales: Landmark project.
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