Public Art / Botley GAP

The Public Art Working Group was set up to oversee the use of Section 106 money allocated specifically for the provision of public art in the parish.

The members of the Working Group are: Cllrs: Lorna Berrett, David Kay, Shazia Keily. Non-Cllrs: Abigail Brown, Vale District Council Arts Officer

The current projects are:

  • West Way: see details below. 2 of the 3 artworks are now in place with the mural to follow
  • Turner Drive: S106 money to be spent by Nov 2025. Initial investigations underway. A public consultation with residents was held in September 2023. More details below.

Turner Drive Artworks:

Thank you to the residents who attended on site on 10th September. Everyone was very supportive of the idea of art works on site and expressed a desire to keep the artworks functional, interactive and in keeping with the environment. Artworks of a landmark monumental nature or too modern and abstract and made from metal or garish materials were not favoured. We had some great feedback and ideas and you can view the images we shared and the feedback and ideas below:

We are now asking for any more thoughts from residents by end of October. Please email us at publicart@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk with your thoughts or to let us know if you would like to be involved in the selection process for an artist. Our next steps are to create a brief to send out to artists, with a deadline in January, with the aim of appointing an artist in February and working towards installation in the Spring of 2024.

West Way Square Public Art

As a requirement of the West Way Square development, the developers Mace had to provide S106 funding specifically for public art in and around the shopping centre.

Background:

NHPC, working with Abigail Brown, Oxfordshire Arts Development Officer, conducted initial community consultation at a community event in January 2020. We subsequently oversaw an artists call out through local and national arts networks, resulting in the commissioning of three locally-based artists working in contrasting media:

Fusion Arts is managing the community consultation. The aim is for the artworks to visually enhance and improve the area, build community connections and create a “Sense of Place”, destination and identity. This will be achieved through a process of community engagement and consultation as well as by the siting and artistic content of the final pieces themselves.

Find out more here about the artists, the community consultation work so far, and more about their commissions.

Background documents on the process between Nov 2020 and April 2021 can be found online here.

Meanwhile, Botley GAP (Gateway Art Project) has formed to improve the gateway to Botley – the area under the A34 – with a vibrant art project working with Nor and the community. Although it doesn’t mark any official boundary, that point on the map is a transition and a gateway to Botley and areas beyond and is in desperate need of improvement.

Botley Gap Logo

Botley GAP is a working party of people who are keen to improve the gateway area as part of the wider project focusing specifically on the gateway area. There is a need to raise more funding and get grants or local and national businesses involved. Only part of the section 106 money can be spent outside the shopping area and so more funding is required if we really want to make the most of this opportunity.

Find out more on the Botley GAP Facebook and Instagram pages. To get involved with the Botley GAP project contact Cllr Laura Jones.

There will be opportunities to get involved in community consultation on all parts of the public art project in the months to come. Please check our home page news items for the latest information. For general queries email publicart@botleynorthhinksey-pc.gov.uk