Posted on the 14th of May 2009
The town of Ashford in Kent is undergoing a large scale regeneration project to enable its growth for jobs and homes in the future.
A part of this growth included commissioning artists to produce projects which inspired the local community and encouraged positive opinions about the changes in Ashford.
The Brief
The artist, Cathy Streeter was commissioned by Kent County Council to produce a piece of art that reached out to the community and was inclusive of the town’s history.
The result was an art installation along the Elwick Road wall that used to contain the cattle market. The 150 year old wall had witnessed the unique history in the town and this association made it an intriguing and fitting site for the artists work.
Our role was to encourage the community involvement and publicise the growth and results of the project.
The Answer
Cathy Streeter set up a bistro-style consultation day, in which she placed herself in the town’s bandstand with a table and chair adorned with a cow print cloth!
Pillory Barn sent out a press release to the local papers calling for people with their memories of the local cattle market to come and spend time with Cathy to record these precious memoirs for her project. A photocall was also sent out for journalists to get a good picture of Cathy in the town meeting with the public. There were a lot of enquiries and Pillory Barn also helped to field some of the calls and follow up on particular people who could not make the consultation with Cathy.
The Results
The result of memories was astounding after the appeal and it built up a positive reception of art in Ashford, which had fallen under criticism in the past. The project also generated a large amount of positive press and set a precedent for good reception of public art in the future. The press coverage included all of the local papers in Ashford and even a piece on BBC Radio Kent and ITV Meridian.
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