Go Herdwick

In 2016 AATE worked with the Lake District Calvert Trust to deliver a public art project - go herdwick. 

Starting Easter 2016 the communities of Rydal, Grasmere, Ambleside, Keswick and Windermere were invaded by a flock of life sized decorated fantasy Herdwicks. Herdwick ewes and lambs in unexpected places; in parks, in the street, on buildings, in shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels – all paying homage to the Herdwick’s iconic home in the Lake District.  The project ended in October 2016 with all the ewes and lambs being sold at a charity auction.

The project was a great success bringing joy to the thousands of families who visted the art trail, raising £225,000 for the Trust and rewarding the artists involved via sales commssion.

For more information see http://www.goherdwick.co.uk

Olympic and Paralympic themed bronze sculptures and photographs at gallery@oxo, Southbank

The place to see topical Art this week is gallery@oxo the Southbank London.
Art at the Edge are exhibiting their collection 'Sculpture and Sport a celebration for 2012'.
This comprises 30 Olympic and Paralympic themed bronze sculptural studies newly commissioned from British sculptors and 'Fortius' a collection of photograhs by John Ord.

The exhibition was opened by Baroness Sue Campbell, Chair of the Youth Sport Trust.
It continues until 12th August so come on down and admire the stunning artwork, which is all for sale, with profits of the project going to support disabled and disadvantaged young people through the life changing work of the British Paralympic Association and the Youth Sport Trust.

Win your choice of one of the 30 bronze sculptural studies by buying a lottery ticket!

Available at the gallery gallery@oxo
or online at www.artattheedge.org

Sculptures at the Olympic Park

Yesterday, Art at the Edge took a selection of sculptures from the bronze collection to the Olympic Park to be exhibited at Sainsbury’s School Games 2012.  Backed by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, the Sainsbury's 2012 School Games is a multi-sport event for 1,600 elite young athletes. The Games took place from 6-9 May 2012 with the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome and Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park among London venues hosting competition.

In the evening all 1,600 athletes who had competed in the Sainsbury's 2012 School Games headed over to the Basketball Arena to enjoy a closing ceremony with performances from the Cover Drive and gymnastic troupe Spelbound.

The sculptures were very well received at the reception in the Olympic Family Lounge in the Olympic Basketball Arena. 

For further information on Art at the Edge's events and exhibitions visit www.artattheedge.org

Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving World Cup

I was fortunate enough to attend the Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving World Cup yesterday in the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park.

It was a very exciting event and a great opportunity to get a closer look at the Olympic Park. Although, it is clear there is still a lot to be done before the summer you could already feel a buzz in the atmosphere. Anish Kapoor's snaking steel structure dominates the skyline at the park and on a sunny day like yesterday there is a great backdrop of the city behind. 

Never daring to dive from the top diving board myself, I was amazed by the acrobatic diving and precision (in most cases!) The 10m high platform mean that through gravity alone the divers hit the water at speeds of up to 40mph!

The winners of the event, Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan from China most certainly shone but there was a lot of support for Britain's Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield.  There has been criticism of Daley's performance yesterday morning, remarking he is putting too much emphasis on media commitments. Nevertheless, I most certainly look forward to watching this duo perform at the Olympic Games, even if only on the TV. 

Don't forget....the life-sized wire mesh sculpture of Tom Daley by Nikki Taylor will be on display in Bath as part of the city-wide sculpture trail, Sculpture and Sport: a Celebration for 2012 from the 22nd May - 9th September.

Sue Freeborough's Fencing sculpture on the cover of The Bath Magazine.

Art at the Edge sculptures: an image of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

2012 has finally come and we excitedly prepare for our celebration of sport and art. We have achieve a lot over the last few years.... The full bronze collection of 30 Olympic and Paralympic sculptures is now complete and we have a diverse collection of guest artists creating powerful and thought-provoking art.

2012 is the year Art at the Edge will exhibit the complete bronze collection in a series of major exhibitions including, The Ashmolean, Oxford, The Victoria Art Gallery, Bath and The Oxo Gallery, London. Furthermore, as the Olympic torch passes through Bath on the 22nd of May, Art at the Edge's public sculpture trail will launch! Incredible life sized sculptures will be located in dramatic setting around Bath so keep your eyes peeled!

To mark the beginning of this much anticipated year, The Bath Magazine chose to feature Sue Freeborough's Fencing sculpture for the cover of their first issue of 2012. If you are in Bath don't forget to pick up a copy of The Bath Magazine or it can be viewed online at: http://issuu.com/mcpublishing/docs/bathmag0112?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

Nikki Taylor's wire mesh sculptures at the Royal United Hospital, Bath

Guest artist, Nikki Taylor has three of her stunning life-size, wire mesh sculptures on display at the Royal United Hospital, Bath. 

The sculptures are located in the hospital as part of their exhibition programme, Art at the Heart of the RUH: http://www.ruh.nhs.uk/art/exhibitions/current.asp?menu_id=202
Art at the Heart presents a high quality programme of arts within the RUH for the benefit of patients, staff and visitors.


The sculptures of Olympic diver Tom Daley and the torso of a female tennis player are on display in the Central Courtyard (Zone B).

Tom Daley by Nikki Taylor

Tennis Girl Torso by Nikki Taylor

The wire mesh sculpture of the 'Bath Bullet', sprinter Jason Gardener can be seen in the Rolling Hills Courtyard (Zone A).

Jason Gardener by Nikki Taylor

To create her sculptures, Nikki takes precise measurements of the athletes and makes the sculptures freehand, moulding the mesh in the air. Below you can see Nikki measuring Jason Gardener at The University of Bath's Sports Training Village in preparation for her sculpture. 

The exhibition at the hospital runs from now until February 2012. 
In the summer of 2012 Nikki's life-sized sculptures amongst others will be on display in the streets of Bath as part of a sport themed sculpture trail, Sculpture and Sport: a Celebration for 2012. 


All the sculptures are for sale and can be purchased through Art at the Edge's online shop: https://www.artattheedge.org/shop/
Profits from the sales of sculptures go to our beneficiaries, The Youth Sport Trust and ParalympicsGB. 

Life- sized Judo sculpture by Sophie Dickens demonstrates the artistry of sculpture and sport

The Sculptor Sophie Dickens has captured the artistic beauty of the perfect Judo throw in an extraordinary life-sized Judo sculpture currently on display at CircleBath, which truly demonstrates the marriage of sport and art. She gave a fascinating talk last week, on the process involved in understanding the dynamics of the sport and creating her sculpture. Her talk was illustrated with a demonstration of the throw by Team Bath Olympic hopeful Jan Gosiewski, British Judo Squad member and European Cup gold medallist, assisted by two young judoka Adam Bolwell and Joda Callan.

Jan had repeated the throw dozens of times for Sophie when she visited Team Bath, at the University of Bath, to sketch and take photographs of the sport before starting work on her sculpture. This allowed her to construct the artwork from shaped pieces of seasoned oak, which really capture the movement in one of the classic winning judo throws ‘Morote Seoinage’ or the two arm shoulder throw.

The project is fund raising to have the life-sized sculpture cast in bronze, with the aim of displaying it both in Bath, prior to the Games and at the ExCel centre, the venue for the judo competition during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This dramatically impressive life-sized sculpture is 2m high, it can be viewed in the reception of CircleBath until the end of the month, where visitors are welcome.

A limited edition bronze of the beautiful maquette sized 'Morote Seoinage' sculpture, which is  currently exhibited in the British Airways First Class Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5, can be  purchased from the online shop at https://www.artattheedge.org/shop/

Profits from the project will be used to benefit disadvantaged or disabled young people through the life changing work of the Youth Sport Trust and ParalympicsGB.

A film of the bronze  judo sculpture can be seen at:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTHeUhp6BF8