Move over Banksy – The Art of Building Comes to a Street near You!
25 May 2011
Forget corporate logos and advertising – soon the public will be treated to dramatic, eye-catching art galleries on construction sites around the country, thanks to a new initiative from the Chartered Institute of Building.
Contractors and clients that register their interest on the CIOB’s Art of Building website will be provided with templates for their hoardings, featuring photography from the CIOB’s second annual Art of Building digital photography competition, once the shortlisted finalists are confirmed later this year
"Our ambition is to create a connection between the viewer and the very real art of building taking place on a live construction project – especially as many of these are located in the very heart of public spaces," says Art of Building manager Saul Townsend. "Through this initiative, construction firms and clients have the opportunity to do something different with their sites and to catch the eye – and the imagination – of the passing public."
Last year, photography from The Art of Building competition created a buzz in the city of Wolverhampton when it was featured at the multi-million pound Interchange project in collaboration with Bam Construct UK, the main contractor on the project.
The diverse range of subjects included Bangladeshi slums built precariously on bamboo stilts, a child running barefoot in fountains on London’s South Bank and the futuristic bright lights of the Hong Kong mid-levels by night. The winning photograph depicted a construction worker ascending into a dark, stormy sky on a cherry picker.
Now the CIOB hopes to build on the success of the Wolverhampton exhibition and generate enough industry support to take images from this year’s final to towns, cities and streets across the UK and beyond.
Facts
The Chartered Institute of Building wants to hear from contractors and clients working on projects that want to engage and inspire the public, raising their own profile in the process. Free bespoke templates will be designed for download giving the client/contractor a suite of images to choose from. To find out more and register, log on to www.artofbuilding.org/RegisterSite
Projects have to be under-construction in September 2011 onwards to qualify.
The Art of Building competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 and will be open for entry until May 31. For more details, log on to www.artofbuilding.org. The competition can also be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Art_of_Building