Kent Cultural Baton Shortlist Announcement!

Kent County Council has announced some of the exciting artists currently shortlisted to design the Kent Cultural Baton – and there is still time for you to join them!

After one proposal recently withdrew, an opportunity now exists for new artists to express their interest and submit their ideas to be added to shortlisted artists already in the second round.

The Kent Cultural Baton will be an original piece of artwork that will travel around the county visiting festivals, organisations, individuals, schools and businesses which together will represent the 21 different representations of ‘culture’ and ‘creativity’ as defined by London 2012. These include art, science, food, gardens, heritage and historic, carnival and street theatre, music and the environment.

The special arts project will be the only one of its kind in the country and will enable the whole county to interact with the Cultural Olympiad through the baton on its journey through to the London 2012 Games.

Of the current shortlisted ideas, the selection panel were particularly impressed by the following two proposals:

Cathy Streeter: Bat ‘n’ Ball

Cathy proposes a ball that demonstrates the link between sport and Kent’s culture. The ball will travel through the county opening at each chosen location to reveal an LED screen that plays a film of Kent’s cultural landscape.

Nicole Mollett: Travelling Pod

Nicole’s proposal is to create a travelling pod that can be adapted to conduct various
tasks including surveillance, photography, weather recording, webcam and sound recording in addition to being a temporary gallery space. The pod will travel among Kent communities and through a series of workshops, resulting in the creation of an alternative map of the county that encourages people to explore the lost, forgotten and hidden places of Kent.

Interested artists are encouraged to apply NOW and take advantage of an unexpected and unique opportunity. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is Friday 2 October 2009

The successful artist will be chosen later in 2009 and announced at a special celebration on 3 December.

For more information please contact Lucy Hayward, Arts & Regeneration Officer, West Kent at: lucy.hayward@kent.gov.uk.