You may have spotted something a little more colourful appearing near Tate St Ives recently!
As part of our ongoing Town Appearance & Facilities programme, St Ives BID has been delighted to work with local artist Sharon McSwiney to transform two otherwise ordinary electrical boxes into colourful pieces of public art.
Located close to Tate St Ives, the boxes presented the perfect opportunity to take something functional that forms part of the everyday streetscape and turn it into something much more fitting for a town renowned around the world for its art and creativity.
Inspired by St Ives
Sharon’s designs draw inspiration from the colours, landscape and artistic heritage of St Ives, with influences including Troika pottery, Barbara Hepworth and Terry Frost.
Rather than trying to disguise the boxes, the project celebrates them – using bold colour and design to create something interesting for people to notice and enjoy as they walk through this part of town.
Sharon is no stranger to working with St Ives BID either. She was one of the local artists involved in our previous St Ives Seagull Trail, which saw colourful seagull sculptures created and displayed around the town.
Small changes can make a big difference
Our Town Appearance & Facilities programme isn’t just about large-scale projects. It is also about identifying those smaller opportunities that, collectively, can make a real difference to how our town looks and feels.
From our summer planting and street decorations to maintaining and improving public spaces, we want St Ives to remain somewhere that businesses are proud to be part of and that residents and visitors can enjoy.
The painted boxes are another example of this approach – taking an everyday feature of the town and working creatively to make it something special.
Supporting local creativity
St Ives has an extraordinary artistic heritage, but creativity isn’t something that belongs only inside our galleries and studios. Projects like this give us an opportunity to bring art out onto the streets and celebrate the talented people who continue that creative tradition today.
A huge thank you to Sharon McSwiney for bringing the boxes to life. We think they add a fantastic splash of colour to this part of town and hope they’ll make plenty of people stop, look and smile.
Keep an eye out for them next time you’re near Tate St Ives!
This project forms part of St Ives BID’s Town Appearance & Facilities programme, investing BID levy funds into projects that help improve and enhance St Ives for our businesses, residents and visitors.
