DLR Art is inspired by the belief that art has the potential
to enrich people's experience and their relationship with the
environment.
DLR Art will see artworks installed across the DLR network and
trackside, in adjacent public spaces and in stations and trains over the
next few years. Artists will have a fundamental influence on
infrastructure, public spaces, landscape and lighting, as well as the
opportunity to engage the public's imagination through temporary
interventions, sound, poetry, interactive and live art.
The unique qualities of the DLR and the area it covers have
informed the approach taken to developing the Public Arts Programme.
These include physical and environmental aspects, culture and
communities, regeneration and partnerships. Involving local communities
and cultural organisations, and instilling a sense of pride and
ownership, are key to the DLR's approach to public art.
The
Strategy provides a framework for artists' commissioning opportunities,
both temporary and permanent up to 2012 and beyond, and will be realised
in partnership with public and private sectors. The scope for public
arts is broadly categorised under three interlinked strands:
Permanent commissions including artists'
collaborations on new station design, artist-designed public spaces,
light, sculpture, serial and wall-based artworks.
Temporary artworks including installations, artists' residencies and arts events.
Community projects 'Yourartwork' linked to the 'Yourailway' initiative, involving local communities, schools and colleges.
Within these strands there are commission opportunities from the grand to the human scale.
DLR Art reframes the DLR's identity as a cultural and social
environment, in an area of London that houses the greatest concentration
of artists in the capital. It aims to match artists' creativity with
the opportunities presented by the DLR's locations, communities and
infrastructure, and in doing so, enhance the experience of its
passengers.