Black and white images of buildings and places in Scarborough
Black and white images of buildings and places in Scarborough
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Various Locations Scarborough Town Centre
Produced by ARCADE
NOVEMBER 2023
Unsung places, memorable locations, and recollections of local people, celebrated in a series of illuminated text artworks - designed and created with artist Adrian Riley, produced by ARCADE. These are the town centre places we'd hang out as kids, or the location of a first kiss, perhaps the meet up spot for a night on the town... anywhere special in our lives deserves to be celebrated, and we're going to light it up!
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Local groups and individuals will be invited to reveal their favourite Scarborough places and the accompanying personal stories through discussions, workshops, and walking tours – sharing why certain locations were important to their generation. Maybe it’s somewhere they hung out with friends as kids, where a first kiss often happened, or, where they’d meet up for a night on the town. Anywhere and anything can be deserving of being celebrated in an artwork – we want to light it up!
In chatting to Adrian, people’s various stories will inspire the creation of six bright and colourful text artworks – each taking the form of illuminated, visual signage in a variety of glitzy styles that have become synonymous with Scarborough. The artworks will form a trail for fellow residents and visitors to follow, with each artwork also providing access to further information about its location, the story behind it, and what can also be seen and experienced within a few steps.
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Adrian Riley is an artist-designer working with words in public places. From his 'electric angel' studio in Scarborough he has created text-based public artworks across the UK including permanent work in Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Hull, and closer to home with commissions from English Heritage, the RSPB and NHS. Inspired by place and the words of the people who live there, his work is often created in collaboration with local residents as well as regularly working in partnership with other artists and writers. Recent commissions have included a 35m long text work carved into stone paving leading to the entrance of Grimsby Minster, and a collaboration with the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, at Brimham Rocks near Harrogate commissioned by The National Trust.
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With thanks to our funders
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This project is made possible with the support of Arts Council England.
