Centro are looking for local artists to help decorate the Birmingham City Centre Midland Metro extension with three location cabinets set to receive artwork rather than keep the plain paint jobs as seen elsewhere in the UK. The three cabinets – which will contain signaling and telecommunications equipment – are situated at Bull Street, Corporation Street and Stephenson Street and it is hoped that local artists will enter a competition to decorate these ahead of opening by the end of this year.
Cllr Roger Horton, Centro lead member for rail and Midland Metro, explains: “Other cities around the world utilise street furniture and transport infrastructure in this way, they can be significant platforms within the public realm that contribute to first impressions of a city. The West Midlands is a hotbed of artistic and design talent so we thought this would be a great way of showcasing it.”
Centro have teamed up with public art organisation WERK to invite expressions of interest for designs and both emerging and established artists will be eligible. As well as seeing their artwork on the cabinets the winning entrants will also be awarded £1,000. The competition had only a short entry period which has now passed (entries closed 20th July) so if you were interested and didn’t enter sorry but it’s too late!
Just get on with it and get the da**ed extension OPENED! Why oh why does everything in this benighted country take forever to build? Is it the weather or our British temperament? We really couldn’t run the proverbial whelkstall!