Beam

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻, your mural is officially complete! 🤩

As part of our public art festival, 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸, mural artists Hayley Garner and Seca One Art have created a totally unique piece of art to celebrate Mosley Common 🖌️

Over the past few weeks, we've chatted with residents and held school workshops to discover what needs to be represented in the mural.

From The Beehive Community Centre and locally planted apple trees, to mining heritage and strong community spirit, the finished artwork brings together the stories, ideas and people that make this area so special.

We'd love to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped bring this to life, including our amazing artists, Beam Arts UK and all of the wonderful residents and pupils of Mosley Common ❤️

Go and see it for yourself at St. John's Mosley Common CE Primary School now 👏

To learn more about the artwork and the inspiration behind it, please join us at 'Mosley Common; The Roots of the Past are Deep' during their Heritage Open Days event on 19 and 20 September.

: The Past Inspires the Future

Heritage has always shaped the work we commission at Beam over our 40 year history. Artists working with us often start by learning about a place, its hidden histories and the people who came before. That understanding becomes the foundation for new public art that builds pride, connection and a stronger sense of place, for local people and visitors alike, as they look to the future.

Some ways artists have linked past and present:

Featherstone War Horse by Codsteaks commemorates those lost from the town in WW1, set within a newly planted woodland for quiet reflection.

Walking Together by Broadbent Studio remembers the men who died in disasters at Markham Colliery and celebrates the strength of mining communities.

Colour Forms by Lenny & Whale at Wentworth Castle Gardens celebrates Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who brought smallpox inoculation to England from Turkey in 1721, reflecting on its relevance during Covid-19.

The Mute Still Air, a sound artwork by Ed Carter with Grimethorpe Colliery Band at Elsecar Heritage Centre, draws on Elsecar’s history of industrial innovation.

Audacter et Sincere, a mural by Cbloxx in Castleford, celebrates key eras in the town’s history right up to the present day.

One of our biggest heritage programmes was the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Great Place Scheme, where we commissioned 105 creative practitioners and engaged 7,500 participants through workshops, pop-ups, installations, performance and digital content. Each commission connected artists to a specific place, working with heritage venues and community partners to build lasting capacity for future creative projects.

A key commission was Mr Arkwright by Jo Fairfax at Cromford Mills, a water and cycle-powered drawing machine inspired by Richard Arkwright’s water-frame. Where his machine spun thread, this one creates drawings.

From stories of people and place to memorials and industrial innovation, these projects show how looking back helps build stronger, more connected places for the future.

Drop in TODAY -
Come and meet the artist, view the final design proposals and find out more about the project at one of the following drop-in sessions:
Wednesday 8 July 2026
Taylor Wimpey Show Home
Neil Fox Way, City Fields, WF1 4GQ
1:00pm – 3:00pm
or
St Swithun’s Community Centre
Arncliffe Road, Eastmoor, WF1 4RR
4:00pm – 6:00pm

New public artwork designs to be unveiled - Meet The Artist.

Funded by contributions from housing developers at City Fields, Professional artist Sapien has been commissioned to design and install a new sculpture on the site.

The designs were created following engagement with younger residents and members of the local mining community - and incorporate aspects of the area's rich heritage and biodiversity.

Once complete, the piece will be installed in the open space at the entrance to the new Taylor Wimpey development on Neil Fox Way.

Come and meet the artist, view the final design proposals and find out more about the project at one of the following drop-in sessions:

Wednesday 8 July 2026

Taylor Wimpey Show Home
Neil Fox Way, City Fields, WF1 4GQ
1:00pm – 3:00pm

or

St Swithun’s Community Centre
Arncliffe Road, Eastmoor, WF1 4RR
4:00pm – 6:00pm

We’d love to see you there and hear your thoughts on this exciting new addition to City Fields.

Excited to share designs for a new artwork by Sapien Studio at Newland Grange area in City Fields, Wakefield. Details of drop in sessions below where residents can meet the artist and view the final artwork design on Wednesday 8th July, 2026 at the following locations:
1 - 3pm – Taylor Wimpey Show Home, Neil Fox Way, City Fields, WF1 4GQ.
4 - 6pm – St Swithun’s Community Centre, Arncliffe Road, Eastmoor, WF1 4RR.
Everyone is welcome — drop in at a time that suits you.

New public artwork designs to be unveiled - Meet The Artist.

Funded by contributions from housing developers at City Fields, Professional artist Sapien has been commissioned to design and install a new sculpture on the site.

The designs were created following engagement with younger residents and members of the local mining community - and incorporate aspects of the area's rich heritage and biodiversity.

Once complete, the piece will be installed in the open space at the entrance to the new Taylor Wimpey development on Neil Fox Way.

Come and meet the artist, view the final design proposals and find out more about the project at one of the following drop-in sessions:

Wednesday 8 July 2026

Taylor Wimpey Show Home
Neil Fox Way, City Fields, WF1 4GQ
1:00pm – 3:00pm

or

St Swithun’s Community Centre
Arncliffe Road, Eastmoor, WF1 4RR
4:00pm – 6:00pm

We’d love to see you there and hear your thoughts on this exciting new addition to City Fields.

Drop in to Featherstone Community Centre 10-4 today to help shape the future of Featherstone. Featherstone PrideinPlace

Artist Harriet Lawson is designing a new artwork for Outwood! To find out more, drop in and meet Harriet this Thursday (2nd July) at Kirklands Hotel from 6-8pm - she’d love to hear about your memories of the area and talk about how you get out and about in nature to feed into her design ideas.

ARCHIVE 6 ‘People at the Heart’

Community engagement isn’t just part of what we do, it’s where everything starts. 💛

For 40 years, artists working with Beam have spent time with the people and places they’re creating for and with. Getting to know local stories, histories and what matters to a community. Talking to residents, listening to what they’re proud of, what they’ve lost, what they’re hoping for. That time spent on making connections shapes every project.

The result? Public art that is inclusive and feels like it belongs. Art that people recognise themselves in. Art that reflects the character of a place, its past, its present and its future ambitions.

We believe public art should be for everyone, in the parks, streets, libraries, schools and community centres that people move through every day. It should invite curiosity, spark conversation and offer people a reason to stop and look again at their place.

The best way to make that happen is to work with communities, not just for them. Artists use community engagement as an essential part of their research and creative process, making sure every commission is locally rooted and meaningful, not just visually, but in every sense - who it involves, whose stories it tells and whose voices shaped it.

That approach has taken many forms across our 40 year history. Creative workshops, walking tours, oral history projects, co-design sessions and more with young people, older people, and everyone in between. Each approach is a way of making sure the art that ends up in a place genuinely reflects the people who live there, building a strong sense of personal connection.