Arts

South Essex is the site for Art U Need, a project jointly funded by the East of England Development Agency’s Investing in Communities (IIC) programme and the Arts Council East (ACEE). The objective is to bring together local communities and artists to work together on an idea that will benefit the locality. Artists are able to work in a way that is appropriate to the social and physical context of a place, changing people’s perceptions of the areas that shape their everyday lives.

Thames Gateway South Essex is well known for its proud heritage and strong community spirit and provides a unique challenge for artists to become involved in a meaningful way in the rapidly changing area. The people in South Essex are often very proud of their local area and there is a great desire to be much more actively involved in the changes around them.

The original objectives for the project, set by Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership, were to “rejuvenate five neglected spaces”, “involve local communities in the process” and “produce work of long term merit and quality”. These objectives became the focus of preliminary discussions about what was possible, the appropriateness of this, and how local people might become involved.

International artists, Bob and Roberta Smith, were commissioned to act as curator on the series of five public art projects in March 2005. Art U Need have produced a book, written in diary form, charting the movement of public art away from the construction of grand objects to carefully conceived projects that bear relevance to the communities and locales that they are aimed at. To receive a copy of the book, please contact the Partnership office on 01268 881 299, or to find out more about the project, visit the Art U Need myspace page here. http://www.myspace.com/artuneedneedsu