Cultural Olympiad project Bus-Tops and the Goldsmiths Design Department at the University of London yesterday announced a new collaboration.
Goldsmith students Matt West and Sophie Scott will help Art Public, the Bus-Tops delivery team, with the first prototypes for the project which will see screen-based sculptural installations placed on the roofs of London’s bus shelters. These installations will be on display from July 2011 until the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
Bus-Tops aims to provide a participative and democratised digital platform for artists to show their work through submissions via a website. Through the same website, www.bus-tops.com, people can also discuss which bus stops they would like to form part of the project.
The high-profile and innovative project should offer a valuable experience for the students.
Matt Ward, programme leader of the BA Design at Goldsmiths, said: “The Bus-Tops project utilises a lost piece of London real estate to reveal and connect people within the city. Having our students and graduates involved in the project is fantastic. Our programme promotes a thoughtful and critical approach to design, which should sit well next to a project that intends to create new and exciting experiences throughout London during the 2012 Olympics.”
Alfie Dennen, director of Art Public, commented: “The Bus-Tops project is all about London and Londoners. Working with talented students and Goldsmiths is another aspect of the project’s commitment to involving Londoners and develops the incredible design talent in the capital. This is just the beginning and we hope thousands of people all over London engage with the project when it goes ‘live’ in the run-up to the Olympics.”
Moira Sinclair, London executive director of Arts Council England which is funding the Cultural Olympiad, added:
“We always knew the London 2012 Games were going to offer an array of opportunities for artists and Londoners alike, so it’s great to see these two teams coming together to develop prototypes for Bus-Tops. With over six million people using London buses every week, these bus shelters will form an iconic part of the capital’s landscape in the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and offer an unprecedented boost to the CVs of the designers involved; I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”
Facts on the Cultural Olympiad
• The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.
• Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.
• Millions of people around the UK are already part of the Cultural Olympiad, through the Inspire programme and Open Weekend.
• The finale of the Cultural Olympiad will be in a 12-week UK-wide festival in the summer of 2012, bringing together leading artists from all over the world.