In conjunction with the installation currently on display at Peninsula Square, a new website and online competition have been launched. Visitors to the Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula website have the chance to win two first-night tickets for Kylie Minogue’s concert at The O2 on 26 July 2008.

Since early February, Peninsula Square, one of London’s newest public squares, has been visually transformed by artist Julian Walker’s Births, Chimneys and Lightermen - Collecting Greenwich Peninsula. The work displays a meticulous collection of over 1,500 artefacts and texts which capture the social, historical and geographical landscape of the peninsula.

The installation was commissioned by Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula, which was established last autumn to develop a cohesive approach to creating art at one of London’s most important regeneration schemes. An art programme has been agreed by a client group which includes representatives of English Partnerships, Arts Council England, Greenwich Council and the peninsula’s two principle developers - Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Ltd and Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd.  The client group is also working in collaboration with AEG Europe.

To celebrate the evolving public realm at Greenwich Peninsula the new website -www.artongreenwichpeninsula.com - enables members of the public to explore in more detail the exciting Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula initiative. Led by the Directors of Art Vivienne Reiss and Bridget Sawyers, the programme includes new, permanent and temporary artworks, school workshops, events, performances and debate. 

Julian Walker’s installation has attracted a lot of interest from locals, passers by and visitors to The O2. One person commented how “lovely and thought-provoking” the installation was for them. “It gives us a glimpse of the peninsula’s past history. I am far more likely to remember a place through something like this.” A survey conducted by Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula revealed that 84 per cent of visitors felt that the artwork made them more aware of Greenwich Peninsula as a place with a history and a future.

Philip Dibsdale, English Partnerships’ Area Director for Greenwich and South London said: “We’re delighted with the public’s response to this work, which is the first commission as part of the Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula programme. I would encourage people who haven’t yet seen this fascinating installation to do so, and to get involved with the activities over the coming months. Visiting the new website is a great way to find out what it’s all about.”

To enter the draw to win two first-night tickets to see Kylie at The O2 on 26 July 2008 visitwww.artongreenwichpeninsula.com, answer one question relating to Julian Walker’s artwork and quote the competition reference, which can be found on the information panel on the floor of the installation. 

ENDS

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact: Anna Davidson at ING Media on 020 7392 1940 or email:

 anna@ing-media.com

Anoushaa Massouleh at ING Media on 020 7392 1984 or email:

anoushaa@ing-media.com

Notes to Editors
The Art in the Public realm Greenwich Peninsula client group is headed up by national regeneration agency, English Partnerships, and includes representatives of Arts Council England, Greenwich Council and the peninsula’s two principle developers, Meridian Delta Ltd (a joint venture between Lend Lease and Quintain Developments Plc) and Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd (a joint venture between Countryside Properties Plc and Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd).

It was set up by English Partnerships to ensure that a collaborative, inclusive approach is adopted to the provision of art in the public realm across the peninsula in support of the area’s ongoing transformation into a well-connected, sustainable community.

This work will continue Walker’s collection-based installations shown over the past 12 years in the UK and abroad, many of which have involved local residents. His work can currently be seen at the Wellcome Collection and at Norwich Castle Museum. Website -http://walkerjulian.tripod.com

Births, Chimneys and Lightermen - Collecting Greenwich Peninsula, an art installation by Julian Walker

Walker’s installation responds to the historical, physical and social aspects of the Greenwich Peninsula by referring to its past, present and possible future. Linking texts based on historical and personal records, geology, archaeology and natural history to a collection of found artefacts, objects and images, it proposes a landscape of continuous reinvention, and invites viewers to create their own Peninsula stories.

What is the art in the public realm?

Art in the public realm embraces a wide range of activities involving artists - from permanent site-specific sculpture and the shaping of our environment, to temporary installations or interventions that excite and challenge our perceptions of our environments. It can have a part to play in the regeneration of communities involving a process that encourages local people to embrace new ideas and skills, to develop a sense of ownership, and make decisions about their locality.

Artists working alongside other professionals and designers can contribute their conceptual and practical skills to the creation of buildings, structures and public spaces. They bring an extra dimension of thought, research, sensibility and understanding to the design of public places and the way people experience them.

Art in the public realm can encompass sculpture, installation, painting, craft, applied arts, design, film and video, sound art, digital art, new media, urban design, architecture, street art, community arts, socially engaged arts practice, process based art and temporary arts events, including festivals and public screenings.

English Partnerships is the national regeneration agency helping the Government to support high quality sustainable growth in England by creating well-served mixed communities where people enjoy living and working. 

The agency is overseeing the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula and has invested over £225m since 1997.

In collaboration with the Housing Corporation, the Academy for Sustainable Communities and Communities and Local Government we are establishing the new Homes and Communities Agency that will begin operating in 2009.

www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

Arts Council England works to get great art to more people in more places. They develop and promote the arts across England, acting as an independent body at arm’s length from government. Between 2008 and 2011, they will invest £1.6 billion of public money from government and the National Lottery in supporting the arts. This is the bedrock of support for the arts in England. They believe that the arts have the power to change lives and communities, and to create opportunities for people throughout the country.www.artscouncil.org.uk

Greenwich Council is the local authority responsible for providing a diverse range of public services to residents and businesses in the inner London borough including refuse collections, social housing and education services. It covers an area of more than 5,000 hectares stretching from Deptford in the west to Thamesmead in the east and Eltham in the South to Woolwich in the north and serves a population of approximately 226,600 people. There are currently more than 100 different languages spoken in the borough, and it’s estimated that about 25 per cent of the Borough’s population are from ethnic groups other than white. The Council's ongoing aim is to make Greenwich the place to live, work, learn and visit.

Greenwich Millennium Village Limited is a joint venture development by Countryside Properties plc and Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd in association with English Partnerships.

Countryside Properties Plc is a leader in property development, the creation of sustainable communities and urban regeneration.  The Group is widely recognised as a responsible developer which is totally committed to sustainable development.  The Company, which was incorporated in 1958, is owned jointly by the Cherry family and Bank of Scotland which is providing the Group with significant funding. 

Taylor Wimpey Developments is a part of Taylor Wimpey plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange and the UK’s largest homebuilder. Through its homebuilding brands George Wimpey, Bryant Homes and G2, Taylor Wimpey provides nationwide coverage in the UK, building one bedroom apartments and starter homes up to large detached family houses. As well as operating in the UK, Taylor Wimpey plc builds homes in North America, Spain and Gibraltar.

Greenwich Peninsula

The £5 billion regeneration of 190 acres of Greenwich Peninsula led by Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development PLC working with English Partnerships, will create a thriving new riverside community for London over the next 15 years.

• 10,000 new homes in distinct residential neighbourhoods
• 24,000 permanent jobs
• Peninsula Central  - a new business district for London 
• 150 new shops and restaurants
• 1.6 miles of river frontage; the distance between Waterloo and London Bridge
• 48 acres of open spaces and parks; the size of Green Park
• Extensive new community and leisure facilities
• The O2 entertainment destination delivered and operated by AEG Europe
• Excellent transport links, situated in zone 2 on the jubilee line
• Aspiration for the highest environmental standards for new buildings.

Lend Lease, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is a leading real estate specialist which creates and manages real estates assets around the world.  In the UK its business is focussed primarily in the delivery of large scale mixed use schemes which lead to the regeneration of major urban sites.

Quintain Estates and Development PLC is a leading property investment and development company specialising in strategic property acquisition, redevelopment, asset management and regeneration across the UK. Quintain operates through three business segments - fund management, property investment and urban regeneration.

Quintain is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a FTSE 250 company