West Waterlooville - Public Art Programme
West Waterlooville is a Major Development Area in the south-east of Winchester District, adjoining Waterlooville. On completion it will result in over 3,000 new homes. A public art programme, funded through a Section 106 agreement, has had various iterations since developer, Grainger PLC, gained planning permission in 2012.
In 2023, after a competitive procurement process, Winchester City Council commissioned Studio Response to devise a new programme of public art for West Waterlooville. The Public Art Plan sets out the approach to delivering public art on the development over the next ten years – the estimated time developer Grainger will be on site. It includes a vision: For public art to have a positive impact on the day to day lives of the residents of West Waterlooville. Objectives such as: relevance, distinctiveness, cohesion, quality and inclusiveness. It also outlines the strategic context and highlights the findings of the review. The full plan can be accessed on the right-hand side of this page.
The initial programme will focus on a sustained period of artist-led engagement and research. This more sustained exploration of finding out what’s important to residents and listening to their stories and anecdotes from living at West Waterlooville will then allow us to consider how public art can address these findings and make a positive impact / add value to the area.
The first period of creative activity will be centred around writing/storytelling and the power of words to connect people. Names, how places are described, how people choose to describe where they live to others, has a significance. The impact and consequence associated with such a small word – “of” – in West ‘of’ Waterlooville (the original name of the development) demonstrates this and links to identity and sense of place.
The programme will feature two complementary strands:
Strand 1: The appointment of an established writer who will spend one year researching, observing and writing about Waterlooville. The creative output will be a new piece of writing about the area which will be shared with residents and the wider community.
Strand 2: Three micro projects throughout the year focused on residents within the development. Three mid-career writers and three Assistant Facilitators will be appointed. They will actively work with community members, creating and documenting stories, anecdotes, ideas or conversations about Waterlooville and people’s experiences of living in the area. Working with Studio Response and the Designer they will temporarily display community members’ words within the development in eye-catching, creative and distinctive ways.
In addition to the writing commission phase one of the Plan includes setting up a community commissioning panel. The panel will receive training and mentoring to take on an advisory role about the future of Public Art in the area, influencing the programme for the years following the delivery of the phase one.
It will be a fast-paced first 18 months of activity and engagement which we hope to be impactful and enjoyable for those participating as well as those who will be able to view the words displayed in their local community. We hope to ignite conversations and create notable works which local residents are interested in and proud to see displayed in their local area.
For more information and details of any opportunities please click here.