Nominate somehwhere in Peterborough for a major artwork

One of the suggested locations for a new art work is the Petrified Oak Forest of Mundon, Essex. Photo by Glyn Baker

New Geographies, a new three-year project, is asking the public to nominate locations for ten site-specific art works across the East of England.

The East Contemporary Visual Arts Network (ECVAN) is setting up the project with £600,000 funding from Arts Council England.

ECVAN wants to hear about ‘overlooked or unexpected places’ in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

The concrete pyramid off the coast of Great Yarmouth is another suggested location for a new art work, organisers are looking for suggestions from the Peterborough area. Picture: Julia Devonshire

Nominations submitted so far include the Petrified Forest of Mundon, Essex; the Concrete Pyramid off Great Yarmouth’s coast; The Chapel of St Peter-On-The-Wall in Bradwell-on-Sea; the abandoned Tesco site in

Chatteris, Cambridgeshire; and Pontins Holiday Park, Hemsby.

New Geographies officially started on July 18, and nominations camn be submitted via a special website (www.newgeographies.uk) until October 22, 2017.

The project will then see ten leading UK and international artists commissioned to produce artworks in the chosen locations, with the first announcement of new projects made in January 2018.

The commissions will be unveiled in Summer 2018, Autumn 2018, Spring 2019, Summer 2019 and Autumn 2019.

Hedley Swain, Area Director, South East, Arts Council England, said: “New Geographies is an exciting project that will explore the unique landscapes and rich heritage of the East of England and then immortalise them through the creation of new contemporary art works. Community engagement really sits at the heart of this project and I look forward to seeing many more people of all ages and backgrounds getting out to see contemporary visual art, and perhaps being inspired as artists themselves.”

New Geographies is financed by a £600,000 grant from Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence fund, which was established to stimulate and support ambition, talent and excellence across the arts sector in England. It is administered by ECVAN and is being developed with nine galleries, museums and academic institutions in the region: Art Exchange, University of Essex Colchester; East Gallery NUA, Norwich University of the Arts; Firstsite, Colchester; Focal Point Gallery, Southend; Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge; Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery; originalprojects, Great Yarmouth; UH Galleries, University of Hertfordshire; and Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge. ECVAN will also work alongside a host of additional local partners including Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Vivacity Peterborough and CPP Marketplace, Fenlands & Forest Heath.