‘Crossing to Happier Times’ Art Gallery on a Footbridge
A new community initiative has been announced to transform the footbridge at Bexhill station. The footbridge is in constant use by the public to enter and exit Bexhill town centre but is currently looking neglected and shabby. According to organisers, Tim and Diana Birch, “The Footbridge Project aims to inspire local residents and to enliven the town’s urban fabric in a colourful and engaging way.”
The project will be based around an art competition, entries for which will be displayed on the walls of the bridge, making it into what, according to Tim, “just might be the world’s first Footbridge Gallery!”
Submissions are invited from residents of Bexhill, Hastings and St Leonards and can be in any medium – photography, painting, knitting, sculpture, computer graphics, or even sound. The theme is ‘Crossing to Happier Times’.
Those who may worry that the windows in the bridge could disappear need not be concerned. The plan is to clean and graffiti-proof them rather than remove them. Tim says, “We … are sure they will look brilliant once cleaned up and surrounded by art.”
The competition rules are as follows:
1. THEME All submissions must abide by the theme: ‘Crossing to Happier Times’.
2. DATES Start creating from now, request entry forms and entry fee/donations and send artwork in by 28th May 2021 (closing date for submissions).
3. FEES There is a small entry fee: £5.00 per entry for Adults; £2.50 for 16s and under (but be more generous if you feel like it).
4. MEDIA All media, photography, painting, drawing, knitting, tapestry, weaving, mosaic, sculpture, writing and even sound files, etc., are allowed but must be supplied digitally.
5. WINNERS Entries will be posted on an online gallery where you can vote for your favourite images. Winners will be selected by the public and a select group of judges. The works will be digitally printed onto graffiti-proofed vinyl and applied to the internal walls of the footbridge.
• For full rules and an online entry form, please visit the new website hub (built free of charge, by purely.solutions) www.footbridgegallery.art
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply