Beam

Delighted to see 's artwork installed as part of Staveley's town centre transformation.

‘Cuckoo Boat Sail’ was commissioned by the Staveley Town Deal and as part of the Public Art Programme.

The sculpture takes inspiration from the incredible sail of the historic ‘Cuckoo boats’. These boats were pulled by horses and were the only boats with sails on the Canal. They were called ‘Cuckoo Boats’ due to how unusual they looked on the canal, like a baby cuckoo looking out of place amongst the chicks of another bird. They could sail onto the river Trent and out to sea. They were unique to the Chesterfield Canal and showcase the great ingenuity and courage of local people. 

Coralie would like to thank the residents and young people in the community who she engaged with to develop the idea. Pupils from Staveley Junior School and Netherthorpe School also created mini mosaic artworks which have been installed, to create a sculptural design and mosaic unique to Staveley.
https://www.beam.uk.net/case-studies/cuckoo-boat-sail/

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🎉 Our transformation of Staveley town centre is complete and ready to welcome visitors - the project has included improvements across the town centre, including a new play area, sculpture and a new landmark building.

Together these works have improved the appeal of the town centre and will provide additional reasons for people to visit the town centre and support local businesses. We were delighted to welcome students from Staveley Junior School and Netherthorpe School to the site - both schools helped create the new sculpture and the junior school also shared their ideas for the new play space.

These works were funded through the Staveley Town Deal and will help ensure the town centre is a fantastic space to visit.

You can find out more about our transformation of Staveley town centre on our website. Link in bio.

Delighted to see Coralie Turpin's artwork installed as part of Staveley's town centre transformation.

‘Cuckoo Boat Sail’ was commissioned by the Staveley Town Deal and Chesterfield Borough Council as part of the Public Art Programme.

The sculpture takes inspiration from the incredible sail of the historic ‘Cuckoo boats’. These boats were pulled by horses and were the only boats with sails on the Canal. They were called ‘Cuckoo Boats’ due to how unusual they looked on the canal, like a baby cuckoo looking out of place amongst the chicks of another bird. They could sail onto the river Trent and out to sea. They were unique to the Chesterfield Canal and showcase the great ingenuity and courage of local people.

Coralie would like to thank the residents and young people in the community who she engaged with to develop the idea. Pupils from Staveley Junior School and Netherthorpe School also created mini mosaic artworks which have been installed, to create a sculptural design and mosaic unique to Staveley.
https://www.beam.uk.net/case-studies/cuckoo-boat-sail/

Beam40 5 - Laying the Foundations 🌟

Across our 40 years, Beam has always been passionate about investing in the people who make public art happen, across career stages and disciplines.

From artists looking to work in a socially engaged way in Barnsley through Engage/Create, to the UNBOUND programme supporting Wakefield and West Yorkshire artists to develop their practice in public spaces.

From careers talks with College students, and live projects with Universities; to young people seeing their work exhibited in a town centre for the first time.

From arts and cultural professionals placed in creative organisations in Madrid, Cordoba and Seville through our Arts Across Borders programme; to emerging artists having the opportunity to shadow real life public realm projects, and support for local authority officers looking to commission public art and more.

We work across disciplines - with artists, architects, planners, developers, local authorities and communities.

We work across career stages - from students considering public art as a possibility, to established practitioners pushing their practice further.

Inclusive, successful public art doesn’t happen by accident, it happens when the right people are supported, connected and given the chance to activate their creativity.

We believe that public art moves forward when people are supported to lead it.

Remembering Tess Jaray

1937 - 2026

We are very sad to hear of the recent passing of distinguished artist Tess Jaray. Beam (then Public Arts) was lucky enough to work with Jaray in the late 1980’s and early 90’s on large-scale public artwork which reimagined Wakefield’s Cathedral precinct. Her impact on Wakefield city centre, on Beam/Public Arts, and on demonstrating the power of embedding artists early on as an integral part of design teams, cannot be overstated. She will be greatly missed.


The following information about the commission with Jaray was researched from Beam’s archive by curator and researcher Kerry Harker as part of a wider exploration of the archive.

“In 1989 Public Arts was asked, by the Transportation Engineering Department of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, if ideas could be found to help regenerate the city centre pedestrian zones in Wakefield. On Public Arts’ advice artist Tess Jaray was appointed to lead the design team for the Cathedral Precinct at the heart of the city

Tess Jaray, an artist of international reputation with experience of successful inter-disciplinary work and major public art projects in Birmingham (Centenary Square) and Moscow (new British Embassy), took the Cathedral as her starting point and set about devising a scheme in which the Cathedral would play a more prominent role in the city centre.

To achieve this she removed a low stone wall which effectively cut the Cathedral off from its surroundings, and replaced it with a flight of stairs which double as occasional seating for over one thousand people.

Jaray also designed a patterned floor-scape, a series of stone seats with integral lighting and a range of street furniture.

The project was commissioned by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and won several national awards including the Jerwood Prize and Working for Cities Award.”

Excited to be presenting as part of this event next week about our work with partners, developing a new Public Art Action Plan with

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Spend two days with us exploring public art and how it shapes place.

FORGED: Public Art in the Tees Valley takes place 15-16 May, bringing together artists, fabricators and commissioners to explore how public art is made and experienced.

Friday 15 May includes the launch of the FORGED Public Art Action Plan, a practical resource developed over three years of working across the Tees Valley, and the unveiling of a new sculpture by Alia Gargum, ‘What I Remember about Libya’, commissioned with support from the Henry Moore Foundation. Lunch provided. 12pm-6pm.

Saturday 16 May is a drop-in day with creative activities, a chance to meet commissioners, and open conversations around public art and place. 10.30am-2.30pm.

📍The Auxiliary, 31 Station Street, TS1 1SR

🔗 Spaces are free but limited, register via the link in bio.

- People Making Places 💪

As part of our 40th anniversary celebrations we talked to former director Robert Powell about a formative project in Beam’s history, ‘People Making Places’ - a Yorkshire-wide creative programme we delivered between 2002 and 2004.

Over two years, more than 25 events, workshops and temporary street transformations took place across the region, bringing together school children, residents, planners, artists and councillors around a simple but radical idea - that imagination and creativity isn’t a luxury in urban design, it’s essential to it.

From street transformations across Yorkshire, to workshops, seminars and multi disciplinary summer schools at The Orangery in Wakefield, People Making Places was an early expression of something we still believe deeply, that the best places are made when everyone has a seat at the table, and when creativity is valued as a process, and not merely as decoration.

Twenty years on, the questions ‘People Making Places’ asked feel just as urgent. Who gets to shape the places we share? What happens when artists, communities and professionals think together? And what does genuine imagination in the public realm actually look like?

Join us today for the Spring Market with Barnsley Council Dearne Area Team in . Artist Ruth Dyers has created some beautiful colouring boards to celebrate the Goldthorpe Tows Fund projects

Calling all artists! 📣📣

Are you passionate about creating inspirational artworks in public spaces for everyone to enjoy? Do you love engaging communities in your design process?

If so, we need your creative skills to join a team of artists creating unique artworks as part of our 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 project - a programme of socially engaged public artworks across the Wigan borough, delivered by on behalf of

We currently have 𝟮 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 in Swinley and Mosley Common (we are looking for 2 different artists to each deliver one commission).

𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁: All-inclusive fee of £12,000 per commission (inclusive of VAT if applicable)
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲: April-Nov 26
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 12pm Monday 20 April 26
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀: w/c Monday 4 April (date to be agreed)

Find full details and how to apply https://www.beam.uk.net/events/made-you-look-wigan/