Artist announced for Birmingham Hippodrome 120 sculpture
Birmingham Hippodrome and Pangaea Sculptor’s Centre have announced Rachael Champion as the winner of the Hippodrome 120 Sculpture Commission.
The commission is part of the celebrations to mark the iconic venue’s 120th year, and will see the artist create a sculpture that will be unveiled in October.
Speaking of the award, Rachael said: “It is an honour to have been selected for the Hippodrome 120 Commission.
"The context is particularly special as I have been working in technical theatre to support my sculpture practice for many years.
"I am so excited to get to know Birmingham and its architecture to realise ‘Tower of Varieties’”.
Jonathon Harris, visual arts producer at Birmingham Hippodrome commented: “The Hippodrome 120 Sculpture Commission is a signature project for the venue’s 120th birthday celebrations and an exciting moment for our new visual art programme that reinforces the Hippodrome's commitment to artistic investment.
"The technical and artistic expertise of Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre has made it possible for us to commission and support the fabrication of new sculpture on this scale.
"With well over 500,000 visitors to our building each year, we look forward to this new, temporary public sculpture making a real statement and offering the public the opportunity to engage with high quality contemporary visual art”.
Lucy Tomlins, director at Pangaea Sculptors' Centre, added: “With a distinguished 120-year history, Birmingham Hippodrome is an organisation adept at taking risks with conceptual and material creativity in a way that speaks to a broad audience.
"We are delighted to be working with them on our first major public sculpture commission in the city.
“The sculpture will feature architecture that reflects the city's personality and resonates with the people of Birmingham.
"Rachael is a unique talent in the field of contemporary art and we are delighted to have awarded her this exciting new commission.”
Rachael will be reaching out to the people of Birmingham on social media to make suggestions of the buildings and architecture of the City that resonate with them to be considered for inclusion.
Follow @brumhippodrome and @pangaeacentre to share your favourite.
The sculpture commission is part of the venue’s wider visual arts programme.
From September a new Hidden Stories season of exhibitions will launch, with highlights including Pre-Windrush to the Present Day: A History of Black Performance on Stage at Birmingham Hippodrome in collaboration with Blackstory Partnership.
To see the full visual arts programme, click here.
