Celebrities back £3m sculpture trail through the East End

 
There are plans to create a sculpture park in east London
3 February 2014

Artists and athletes are backing an ambitious £3 million plan to create a sculpture trail through the industrial and natural landscape of east London.

Film director Danny Boyle, Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger and runner Christine Ohuruogu are among those supporting The Line,  which aims to link the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The 02 with a walkway of up to 30 modern and contemporary sculptures.

It takes a route of around four miles, roughly following the Meridian.

Artists, collectors and collections are being invited to offer works  in storage or studios for inclusion in the trail. The aim would be to repeat the process every three years.

But the project, which is the brainchild of London-born art dealer Megan Piper, has no public funding so a £150,000 crowdfunding campaign is being launched today to find the money to proceed. The aim would be to choose works by March, with The Line open to the public by July.

The full route includes rare reed beds with kingfishers along the River Lea at Cody Dock — believed to be named after 19th century American showman Buffalo Bill Cody — as well as the Emirates Air Line cable car.

It will take advantage of work being done by the London Legacy Development Corporation to open up East End waterways to the public.

Ms Piper, 29, who is working with urban regeneration expert Clive  Dutton, formerly of Newham Council, said the timetable was bold but added that she followed the philosophy: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”

Wallinger, who designed the Ebbsfleet Horse, a 50m model planned for Kent’s Ebbsfleet Valley, is on the selection panel for The Line.

He said: “As an artist, the bulk of one’s work is never on show at the same time. It’s in storage or in collections or in studios and  this provides the opportunity to liberate the work.

“And the route itself is through a fascinating part of London... in a borough, Newham, that doesn’t have a huge number of cultural attractions. It gives one a totally new perspective on London.”

Danny Boyle said the Olympics were a huge success that showed people wanted a sense of belonging to the city, adding: “A sculpture walk like this — The Line — will be for everyone to enjoy. They’ll be able to say that this is something that came out of that wonderful festival we had.”

To give to the project, visit   www.spacehive.com/theline

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