Figures of Change Art Trail, Brent, London – Quintain

Figures of Change takes shape over a variety of unique outdoor canvases in site-specific places around the neighbourhood of Wembley Park.

Where is the project located?
Wembley Park, HA9
 
Who is the developer/client of the project?
Quintain
 

Describe the context of this project and its neighbourhood and people?

Quintain’s 85-acre Wembley Park is London’s most exciting new neighbourhood. Already home to the iconic Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium, it is building on its international reputation and becoming a landmark destination with community at its heart.There are 4,700 new homes, shops, and places to work, as well as attractive green spaces. When completed, nearly half of Wembley Park will be open space and the site will be home to the largest single site of Build to Rent in the UK with over 6,000 homes managed by Quintain Living with buildings and amenities designed with for demographics from families to sharers to downsizers. A third of all homes being delivered by Quintain are Affordable.

Wembley Park is within the heart of Brent, London’s most diverse borough. Quintain puts great emphasis on nurturing a long lasting, sustainable population, providing amenities that meet the needs of the current and emerging community such as affordable artist studios and The Yellow, a purpose-built community centre entirely funded by Quintain, which provides a weekly programme of free and low-cost activities led by local people.

Wembley Park’s cultural strategy features a programme of free events. Highlights include the award-winning International Busking Day, an annual festival supporting street performance; Winterfest, an immersive lights trail; and Wemba’s Dream, with performances co-produced with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which will soon be moving its headquarters to the neighbourhood.

A growing collection of outdoor public art developed with local, national, and international artists has transformed Wembley Park’s public spaces.

 
Tell us what you did and how the project, event or installation enlivened the place in a creative way?

On International Women’s Day 2022, Wembley Park launched eight major public realm artworks by leading female artists from around the world, curated and assembled by an all-woman team of 18. The ambitious project, named ‘Figures of Change’, further establishes Wembley Park’s credentials as a major cultural hub for Northwest London. The free art trail includes digital artworks, lighting installations, typography, graphic design, photography and illustration, and centres around the theme ‘How Beautiful Change Can Truly Be’, underpinning the transformation that Wembley Park has undergone in recent years, from an event-day-only destination to one of London’s most exciting new 365-day neighbourhoods, with culture and creativity at its heart. 

As a result of Covid-19, Wembley Park found new ways to boost the spirits of its residents, attract visitors, and support artists, including such initiatives as its outdoor public art trail launched in September 2020. Since this time, the neighbourhood has played host to public art installations and murals created by internationally renowned artists from around the globe.

Adding to the existing trail, ‘Figures of Change’ takes shape across a myriad of unconventional outdoor canvases in site specific locations around the neighbourhood. For instance, upon exiting Wembley Park tube station, visitors are faced with high impact positive messaging of digital artworks that illuminate several digital totems at the dramatically transformed Bobby Moore Bridge. Further along Wembley Park’s recently revamped Olympic Way, a bright, large-scale floor mural is on display opposite the new Olympic Steps by Wembley Stadium.

See more of the trail: wembleypark.com/wembley-park-art-trail.

 
Please share any data or figures that support your entry, for example increased footfall, happiness surveys, event attendance and/or observed changes in behaviour. 

At the time of writing, there has been a 25% increase in footfall on the Wembley Park estate during the three weeks since the ‘Figures of Change’ art trail launched, compared to the three weeks prior to the art trail launching. 

Whilst three weeks is a relatively short time frame to report on visitor behaviour, the 25% increase is compelling, particularly as the weeks prior to the art trail launch included school holidays which typically leads to increased footfall at the estate, as well as the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

Significant press interest in this impressive art trail will have contributed to this increase in footfall.
 
Did the project make a positive social and environmental contribution? Please provide any evidence or data to support this. 

The works reflect the theme of IWD2022, #breakthebias, a global call to tackle discrimination, celebrate our differences and forge an equal future, exploring the positive shifts in attitudes towards women and a collective desire for change following a hugely destabilising global pandemic. 

A prime example is Lois O’Hara’s giant floor mural, ‘Think Independently, Together’. It aims to be a welcoming space for multi-generational connectivity. The artwork forms part of a wider meantime project developed alongside young local adults through a London School of Economics Apprenticeship Scheme, in partnership with Quintain and born from Brent London Borough of Culture 2020. The Apprenticeship Scheme responds to the profound need for young people to have a role in public placemaking.

The intention with the artwork is to create a joyful space which celebrates the diversity in the area using an eye-popping colour palette and interlocking shapes, encouraging connection and interaction after the pandemic. The installation draws inspiration from the map of Brent seen from a bird’s eye view, the playful lines which collide with each other have a fluid and game-like quality.

Zoë Allen, curator: “We’ve had little to no access to culture and the arts throughout the global pandemic and we’ve been starved of inspiration - something that’s so important for the human psyche, so inspiration and accessibility are two of the major driving forces behind this art trail. The project creates a wholly accessible public art trail, providing a unique and exciting platform for artists to showcase their work…”