Crossrail Art Programme

Summary

The Crossrail Art Programme has developed since this paper was written in 2011, in particular with the establishment of the Crossrail Art Foundation with financial support from the City of London Corporation. A future learning legacy paper will set out the form the Art Programme now takes. At the heart of the Crossrail project is a commitment to support London's position as a world-class city by delivering a world class railway that is fit for the 21st century.* The construction of Crossrail is an immense feat of engineering, which will transform the city's congested streets. But it is also a project of great cultural significance, with the potential to transform the world's view of London. London is a city of culture. It understands that culture' is a complex mix of art, business and the wider social realm that forms a tangible asset, which can attract inward capital investment, tourism and the world's most talented people and successful companies. The design and construction of a new railway in the heart of London presents a major opportunity for a new cultural programme that can dramatically increase the regenerative force of Crossrail. The golden era of London Transport, under the stewardship of Frank Pick, showed how public art can help to enhance the passenger journey experience, improve the public realm, forge engagement with staff and local communities and encourage ownership of a network. This paper discusses the creation, development and structure of Crossrail's art programme examining the overall vision, the creation of a project delivery team, the curatorial process and policy, funding and sponsorship proposals and the evolution of the programme into a comprehensive project that sought to achieve the following: The integration of permanent artwork into the fabric of the network The creation of temporary artworks, artist's residencies and cultural events The creation of an artistic record of the project A programme that will attract the foremost artists, galleries and curators A programme that will help to build the Crossrail brand * Crossrail Architectural Design Guidelines: Vision for the System Pt.2.0, 2009 edition.

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