FRANCES LORD

VEILL video wall, Phase 2, 2018-20

VEILL by artist Nayan Kulkarni animates City Park West, a mixed housing development in central Chelmsford. The artwork explores the relationship between contemporary urban surveillance and the cinematic. This is achieved utilising four robotic cameras placed in different positions to create a permanent video installation. As the environment changes so does the artwork. Images projected onto a video wall generated from a live stream reveal changes in the public realm: from day to night, through the seasons and their effects on the soft landscaping and nature, and by pedestrian movements framed by the surrounding buildings. In certain conditions the live streams are transformed, via a hidden computer video control panel, into more abstract imagery.

Project partners: Notting Hill Genesis, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Higgins. Consultancy: Frances Lord

http://www.nayankulkarni.com

Phase 1, 2014-15

Christopher Tipping designed embedded text set into paving, seating and steps, and glazing for the former Anglia Ruskin University site in Central Chelmsford. The texts form a narrative leading north to south through the site and were inspired by the history and geography of the site and surrounding landscape.

The life and times of Anne Knight, one of Chelmsford's most distinguished residents (1786 – 1862), was one of the main sources for this creative interpretation. Anne Knight, a Quaker and a stalwart Anti Abolitionist, was one of few women to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention meeting in London in 1840. In 1847 she published what is considered to be the first leaflet calling for votes for women, including this famous tract. “Never will the nations of the earth be well governed until both sexes, as well as all parties, are fully represented and have an influence, a voice, and a hand in the enactment and administration of the law”.

Other texts refer to Chelmsford’s changing place names and the surrounding landscape as the town began to grow following the coming of the railway in 1842.

Project Partners: Genesis Housing Association; Denne Construction; Bidwell’s; PTE Architects; AREA Landscape Architects.

http://www.christophertipping.co.uk

Artist Susan Kinley created a series of glazed panels and textile hangings based on the local flora and fauna for Bewbush Healthy Living Centre, Crawley, West Sussex. The Healthy Living Centre formed part of the Heart of Bewbush Neighbourhood Improvement Masterplan.

Twenty one decorative panels, with a digitally printed interlayer of images sandwiched in between doubled glazed units, and three silk hangings, were installed in the main entrance, hall and fitness suites. Fitness suite panels were semi-frosted to allow privacy for users. The photographic images of reeds, grasses and spring and autumn flowers were taken by the artist in the Bewbush water gardens and local parks, with Susan working closely with the Bewbush Community Forum to ensure that imagery used reflected the character of Bewbush neighbourhood. The glass was manufactured by Fusion Glass.

Metal paving inserts by artist Steven Follen were installed in the square outside the Healthy Living Centre in late 2011.

Project partners:
Crawley Borough Council, S&P architects, Willmot Dixon; funded through S106.

Arts consultancy and project management by Frances Lord www.susankinley.co.uk

www.stevenfollen.co.uk

Lead artist Julia Manheim was appointed by West Sussex County Council in 2003 to explore with architects and developers how art might be incorporated into the fabric of new PFI school buildings in Crawley.

Julia Manheim and commissioned artists Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer, Fred Baier, and their mentees, spent over a year at the schools developing ideas for permanent artworks with tutors and students.

For Objects and Illusions Julia Manheim liaised with staff and students at Thomas Bennett over the recycling of their rubbish and proposed design solutions to encourage this process. Julia created a series of funky photographic bin ‘wraps’, twinned with framed wall panels of the actual objects to serve as bin locators, for various locations in the college.

Fred Baier’s Journey through a Log at Ifield Community College weighs 10 tons and was constructed from an oak tree felled when the new college was built. The planked log was reassembled and raised on legs. A corridor to one side reveals the grain and leaves enough space to allow for a chamber - The Heart – where the viewer can contemplate the log’s growth rings.

Poets’ Corner by Heinrich and Palmer for Thomas Bennett Community College creates a virtual opening into Tilgate Forest through a corner wall in the main atrium of the college. The scene is created by a large back-lit photograph inviting the viewer to step through and into the space beyond. The image is extremely high resolution so tiny details, including a trail of yellow origami birds slowly unfolding into the background, may be discovered over time. A ribbon of Chinese Whispers begins in the image then winds its way out onto the college walls and down the atrium.

Project partners: West Sussex County Council, Crawley Borough Council, Ifield and Thomas Bennett Community Colleges, HBG UK.

Arts consultancy and
project management
by Frances Lord.

www.fredbaier.com www.quay2c.com
www.heinrichpalmer.co.uk

Artists David Watson, Laura Johnston and Sharon Elphick, commissioned by Crawley Borough Council and working closely with S&P architects, created a series of artworks for K2 Crawley, state of the art new sports and leisure centre in Crawley, West Sussex.

David Watson designed bollards made from CDs, stainless steel and solar powered lights and glass columns, made from recycled bottle and window glass, for the entrance to the building. CDs and glass were collected locally through a campaign led by the Council to encourage recycling and sustainability.

“The intention with the bollards was to create a piece of artwork that integrates with the building, is functional, explores current issues on waste reuse, is aesthetically attractive and involves the local community in a way that makes them feel a sense of ownership and participation.”
David Watson

Laura Johnston’s commission ‘Aerial’, a glass and steel suspended sculpture was designed to create a dynamic form that animates the entrance foyer of K2 through the projection of light and colour. Dichroic glass changes in hue and intensity depending upon the angle of view and the direction of light falling on the glass.

“Laura Johnston’s glass installation is a decorative sculpture that brings a unique feel to the entrance foyer. It is a talking piece and a piece of accessible artwork for the K2 community. Its positioning means it is viewed from many angles and places throughout the leisure centre, and as a landmark.”
S&P Architects

Sharon Elphick worked with leisure centre users and local schools to produce three wall hangings from digital photographs based on sporting activity in Crawley.

Project partners: Crawley Borough Council, S&P architects, Gleesons; additional funding from Arts Council England and Arts & Business.

Arts consultantancy and project management by Frances Lord.

www.davidwatsonworks.com

www.laurajohnston.com

To celebrate the end of the Combe Down Stone Mines Stabilisation Project the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) granted £250K funding for commissioning public art. The Combe Down Public Art Project was the result of two years of activity, events, residencies and commissions.

The commissioned artists - Andy Croft (poetry), Paul Englishby (music), Neville Gabie (photography), Chris Tipping (ceramics) and Simon Whittaker (film) – brought considerable energy, enthusiasm and skill to the project to create a collection of temporary and permanent artworks and, in the process, worked closely with many residents of Combe Down who helped shape ideas for artworks, ensuring that the works created reflect the rich and fascinating history of this unique village.

CELEBRATE! A multi-media event featuring Fireworks, composed by Paul Englishby and performed by Combe Down residents and professional musicians, Andy Croft’s pageant ‘The Hole Story – An historical pageant’ performed by Combe Down school children, poems from ‘Time in the Shape of a Mine: Poems from Combe Down’ and  ‘Under Combe Down’, a 3D underground flythrough by Steve Geliot marked the culmination of the Stone Mines stabilisation project.

Further information
Arts at the Heart issue 26 Nalgao Magazine, autumn 2010 –  a case study of the project

Publications
The Stabilisation of Combe Down Stone Mines: the saving of a village, edited by Frances Lord, 2010
ISBN 978-0-9563829-3-4

Time in the Shape of a Mine: Poems from Combe Down, edited by Andy Croft, 2009
ISBN 978-0-95638290-0-0

Andy Croft, Combe Down: The Hole Story - an historical pageant, 2009
ISBN 978-0-95638290-1-7
Project Partners
Bath & North East Somerset Council, Hydrock, Provelio, Combe Down Stone Mines Community Association
Funded by Homes and Communities Agency

Public art consultancy
by Frances Lord and Steve Geliot

“Experience in community consultation was an essential part of the project managers’ brief, and Steve and Frances were appointed because of their track record and sensitive approach.”
Ann Cullis, Senior Arts Development Officer, Bath and North East Somerset Council

www.englishby.com
www.nevillegabie.com
www.axisweb.org/artist/
christophertipping
www.stevegeliot.com
www.combedownstonemines
project.com

Artist Bruce Williams was commissioned to work with Crawley Borough Council's Property Services team on the regeneration of Langley Green. Bruce designed five stainless steel banners, ten inlayed paving panels, five polished granite seats and eighteen polished granite bollards.

The patterns which now fill Langley Parade were all suggested by the people of Langley Green and Langley Green Primary School to represent themselves and their cultures. The patterns which were chosen from carpet designs, drawings, textiles and household decorations, to name but a few, give us a glimpse into the customs, traditions, heritage and lives of the people of Langley Green.

The international range of designs reflects the enormous cultural and ethnic diversity of the area and depicts many of the cultures which have settled in Langley Green. The patterns and decorations, normally hidden in everyone's homes, are brought out into the Parade, to celebrate the variety of people who form the local community. The countries featured include Barbados, China, Diego Garcia, England, France, India, Italy, Lithuania, Mauritius, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Wales. The patterns have been developed from many sources including woven, knotted and printed textiles, ceramic tiles, architecture, counters, embroidery, henna, toys, badges and crests.

Project Partners
Crawley Borough Council
Allen Scott landscape architects
Funded through S106

Arts consultancy by Frances Lord

Photographic lightboxes commissioned by Lore of the Land photographic lightboxes commission by Heinrich & Palmer for Chelmsford Magistrates Court in Essex, 2012. Client: Her Majesty’s Court Service (HMCS)

Four Shores, a sequence of walks on the Isle of Sheppey linking Sheerness, Warden Point, Leysdown and Harty, was devised by lead artist Stephen Turner, with poet Ros Barber, designed by architect Simon Barker, film-maker Abbe Leigh Fletcher and project manager Frances Lord.

"The four of us camped on the island - spending time together discussing ideas from very different perspectives made for an intensely creative process. Between us we amassed a wide range of material, which really stimulated our imaginations. We were helped by the many knowledgeable people we met: a wasp fancier, local publicans, a retired bobby, the many fossil collectors who walk the beach … "
Stephen Turner

Stephen Turner created a series of artworks including 'Razorform' and five 'Shellcretes' made from a mix of white cement and shells sited in the Swale Nature Reserve, Shellness; and 'Cracked', 'Fallen', 'Exposed', 'Left', 'Settle', 'Wear', polished and incised concrete objects to be found along the foreshore from Minster to Warden Point, with lettering by James Honeywood.

Ros Barber wrote a series of linked poems, published as Not The Usual Grasses singing: a journey around the Isle of Sheppey, written entirely in rhyming couplets, inspired by interviews with island people and her research into Sheppey’s history, memories and rumours.

An additional poem 'End of the World' by Ros was inscribed on the sea defence steps at Sheerness, designed by Simon Barker. Simon Barker also created four 'Colours of Sheppey' image charts using details of photographs taken by the artists on the island.

Abbe Leigh Fletcher documented the entire project in a 28 minute film with footage incorporating the islands features and landmarks, and interviews with local people and the artist team.

Project partners: Medway Swale Estuary Partnership (MSEP),
funding from Arts Council England, Kent County Council
and matched through
European budgets.

Further information
on Four Shores can be seen
on
www.publicartonline.org.uk
www.axisartists.org.uk

Four Shores: artworks for the
Isle of Sheppey catalogue
and DVD with text by Nicola Barker and Stephen Turner, edited by Frances Lord.
ISBN 0-9550467-1-8

Not The Usual Grasses singing: a journey around the Isle of Sheppey by Ros Barber
ISBN 0-9550467-0-X

www.rosbarber.com
www.barkershorten.com

Andy Goldsworthy made fourteen chalk stones of approximately 6 foot diameter, with chalk taken from local Duncton Quarry, and placed them in chosen locations along a five mile trail on the South Downs between West Dean Gardens and Cocking Hill.

“Chalk is a huge mass of material in the Downs and yet is largely hidden. Where it does make an appearance…it looks strange and unreal, as if it didn’t belong”
Andy Goldsworthy

Moonlit Path was a winding chalk trail created by Goldsworthy through Petworth Park and the Leconsfield Estate and intended to be enjoyed by moonlight. It was open for three nights only around the full moon each month for a year from June 2002 and visited and enjoyed by over 3,000 people during the moonlit openings. Each visitor experienced the private pleasure of an agreed personal time slot.

“A place is so different at night it is like being somewhere else. If chalk represents another side and way of looking at the land, so does the night.” Andy Goldsworthy

Project partners: West Sussex County Council, Chichester District Council, Sussex Downs Conservation Board, National Trust, Pallant House Gallery, Footprints and funded by Arts Council England.

Project management
by Frances Lord

Heart of Reeds, a reed bed designed by land artist Chris Drury, is sited on the former railway sidings now reclaimed and designated as an important urban fringe Local Nature Reserve in Lewes, East Sussex.

Heart of Reeds takes the cross section of the human heart as its inspiration.

In consultation with the Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust and Lewes District Council, Chris designed a reed bed which is fully accessible via board walks and paths and incorporates a viewing mound and pond dipping platform. Prior to construction the ditches full of frogs, newts, eels and other aquatic creatures were carefully moved and reinhabited on the site after work was completed. A system of sluices, dividing the reed bed in half, enables water levels to be raised or lowered so that a flow of spring water is constantly flushed through the reeds and out into the water meadows.

The reeds will take up to 5 years to become fully established and the reedbed will be managed to maintain biodiversity.

Heart of Reeds was managed by Lewes District Council in partnership with Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust, East Sussex County Council and funded by Arts Council England, Viridor Waste Management, Southern Water and Harveys Brewery.
Arts consultancy and fundraising by Frances Lord.

Photography by Nicholas Sinclair
www.nicholassinclair.com
www.chrisdrury.co.uk

Borde Hill Garden, set within 200 acres of parkland and woodland in the High Weald of Sussex and an AONB, is home to an outstanding collection of over 8000 exotic and rare trees and shrubs, many of them collected by the great plant hunters of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Correspondence between Colonel Stephenson R Clarke, creator of Borde Hill Garden, the plant hunters and other notable plant collecting families and nurseries provide a rich resource for the arts. B&F (Belinda Holden and Frances Lord) were awarded Arts Council England funding to develop ‘Elizabethan mansion to Edwardian horticultural splendor’ a Cultural Strategy for Borde Hill Garden.

Artist-in-residence Louise O’Reilly researched the lost plant hunters’ letters, correspondence between the Colonel and other notable plant collecting families and nursery owners, and individual plant histories. Her residency culminated in an exhibition and two exquisite printed booklets Plant Histories 1: Emmenopteryis henryi, and Plant Histories 2: Liriodendron chinese. with Louise’s original drawings of plants, maps, letters and other archival material.

Each plant history is unique and shows the extraordinary story of adventure, horticultural passion and plant husbandry behind each new species introduced to the West, and the sheer scale of the ambition and achievement of Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke and his collaborators in creating Borde Hill Garden.

www.bordehill.co.uk

www.lorva.co.uk

Public Art Policy and Strategy

Frances has researched and written several Public Art Policies and Strategies for local authorities. These documents, each specific to the geographical area, provide guidance and direction for future investment in public art and are based on extensive consultation with local community groups and individuals, council staff and stakeholders.

The documents address the benefits and roles of public art; the planning context; delivery mechanisms such as Percent for Art, S106 monies, public art thresholds and tariffs; guidance to developers and other commissioners on best practice, artists’ roles, selecting artists, establishing budgets, contracts, insurance, decommissioning and maintenance policies.

Art in the Public Realm Framework, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, 2015

Public Art Policy + Strategy for Chichester District Council, adopted as a SPD, June 2010

Joint Public Art Policy + Strategy for Worthing Borough and Adur District Councils (with Steve Geliot), adopted as a SPD, 2009

Woking Public Art Strategy for Woking Borough Council (in association with Artpoint), 2007

Visual Arts Plans & Reports

The brief for this report was to identify potential exhibition and project partners and collaborators based in the UK and beyond; focusing specifically on national and international studio groups with galleries and artist-curators based in the UK.

The criteria for selection was that partners and collaborators should share Phoenix's artistic vision, which centres around the creative working process, and offers opportunities for artists to develop and extend their practice and engage in critical discourse and interpretation.

Client: Phoenix Brighton www.phoenixbrighton.org

"an excellent piece of work that allows us to be both visionary and practical….[the report] will really help us to strengthen and expand the ways in which we approach our programming and collaborate with artists…',

Spode China Hall: Contemporary Art Programme & Business
and Operational Plan, 2012

My colleague Kate Stoddart and I were appointed to develop a programme of exhibitions, a business and operations plan, and investigate funding opportunities for Spode China Hall, Stoke on Trent. The final report presented a curatorial vision for visual arts, events and activities and a funding plan to support the development of the space and related case studies. The report also addressed essential infrastructure needs and building requirements, including the feasibility of an on-site café and shop.

West Sussex Public Art Consultancy
Frances worked with West Sussex County Council from 2005 – 2008 as their Public Art Advisor.

During this time she has advised on public art developments in Arun, Crawley, Chichester, Mid Sussex and Worthing. She researched and wrote the 'Guidance paper on Art in the Public Realm', commissioned by the West Sussex Design Commission, which encourages the commissioning of high quality artworks made specifically for the public realm by artists, makers and designers. She researched and edited 'Public Art and artists' commissions in West Sussex', a publication which highlights coastal, regeneration, education, sports, environment and heritage projects, published in 2008. ISBN 978-0-9556168-1-5 Site publications.

'Lawyers for a fast moving world...', Crawley, 2007
Photographer in residence Magali Nougarede’s brief was to observe the office life of law practice Rawlison Butler, Crawley, culminating in a series of framed ‘portraits’ for the company to display in their foyer. The residency coincided with the rebranding of the practice.

Magali was interested in how the clothing people wear and their body language can provide clues about their profession. Ideas were developed in discussion with Rawlison Butler staff to create portraits of the staff and the offices themselves and the activity that goes on in them.

Project funders: Arts & Business, Central Sussex College, Crawley Borough Council, Rawlison Butler. 

Arts consultancy: Frances Lord