Residents are being urged to have their say on the development of a city-wide inventory which will help to protect some of the city’s most treasured public works of art.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council is creating a register of public art to help inform planning decisions related to any future regeneration schemes following the removal of Vincent Woropay’s ‘Capo’ statue in January.
There is already a 72-strong inventory of public art installations across the city, which includes statues, war memorials, murals, fountains, architectural features and street furniture. Now it is looking to develop the list even further – with the help of the city’s residents.
A public consultation – which will run until Wednesday 31 January 2024 – has now been launched to give residents the chance to suggest any public works of art, which aren’t currently listed, to be included in the inventory.
Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “There’s public art all around us in Stoke-on-Trent. You don’t have to look far to see an historical building or a famous statue. These assets tell the story of our heritage and we are committed to protecting them for future generations.
“We already have a list of public art which includes statues, war memorials, murals and fountains but we want to add to that – and we need to know what is important to you. We cannot let what happened to Capo happen to anything else so I would urge you all to have your say on this important piece of work. If you think something is missing – let us know.”
The development of the Public Art Inventory follows the introduction of a new Public Art Protocol which was adopted by the city council last week (Tuesday 7 November).
The protocol outlines how any regeneration scheme in Stoke-on-Trent involving a site that contains a work of art, heritage asset or a listed structure on public land must be subject to an assessment of its cultural value and carried out in consultation with the planning team and the historic environment record officer before it is approved by a director.
Art UK helped source the artworks on the current inventory – and these are further featured on Visit Stoke’s Sculpture Trail.
To have your say on the Public Art Inventory visit www.stoke.gov.uk/publicart.
- More articles in the news archive
- Stoke-on-Trent news RSS feed