Two Bristol-based public art commissioning organisations, Situations at UWE and Field Art Projects, have been appointed to deliver a new programme of six permanent public artworks for Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, as a component of the nationally acclaimed Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) Sea Change programme.

Launching in September 2010, Wonders of Weston will feature artworks by six internationally renowned contemporary artists: Ruth Claxton, Tim Etchells, Lara Favaretto, Tania Kovats in association with landscape architects Grant Associates, raumlaborberlin and Wrights & Sites.

Responding to the changing fortunes of our coastal towns since the decline and rise again of the British seaside holiday, each of the artists has developed an artwork which will create a new talking point or meeting place for North Somerset???s primary resort. Wonders of Weston is exemplary of a growing number of contemporary art projects contributing to the resurgence of seaside towns across the country as evidenced recently in Margate, Jaywick and Folkestone.

Alongside the six new artworks, members of the public are being asked to nominate their own Wonder of Weston. Will it be the derelict Birnbeck Pier or the newly rebuilt Grand Pier; the best fish and chips in the South West; a special place from which to contemplate the Bristol Channel, or even a neighbour’s garden gnome? You can nominate your Seventh ‘Wonder of Weston’ online at www.wondersofweston.org from today or by sending an image and your reason for the nomination to Situations. Nominations currently include the panoramic view from Prince Consort Gardens, Worlebury Hill Fort, the Weston Brass Band, the town’s sand and a cup of tea in Dolphin Square!

Claire Doherty, Situations??? Director, and Theresa Bergne, Director of Field Art Projects, commented, “We???ve all fallen in love with Weston. We realised when first approached to take on the directorship of this programme that this was an opportunity to do something really exceptional. Our artists have not only responded to the historical character of this place, but importantly to its vibrant and intriguing qualities now. They want to lead us to special places that we might never have discovered, and join residents and visitors alike in celebrating the British seaside town.”

Claire Doherty and Theresa Bergne were selected by North Somerset Council to co-curate a series of commissions for the town, which form a component of the nationally acclaimed Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) Sea Change programme. Wonders of Weston will be produced by Situations
and will launch on the weekend of 25-26 September 2010.