The Princess Marina Public Art Programme, Gaborone, Botswana The environmental upgrading of Princess Marina Hospital in the capital of Botswana, Gaborone, provided the opportunity to develop a comprehensive public art installation programme to enhance the physical appearance of its exterior. Over a period of three years, twelve Batswana artists were commissioned to design and make site specific artworks to provide visually stimulating focal areas around the hospital grounds. Individual artists were chosen from a range of backgrounds, including San artists from the Kuru Project in Ghanzi, formally trained artists and self-taught artists working on traditional themes and subject matter. In-service training in professional practice and business management was offered to the participating artists throughout the programme to build capacity and skills development. The programme was the first of its kind in Botswana and was funded by local businesses and the Ministry of Health. The artworks were designed for permanent display within the hospital and they have proved to be very popular with patients, hospital staff and visitors alike. Many of the selected artists have gone on to develop further public art commissions within the region following the success of the Princess Marina project. 1995-1998
The Jungle Mural, Mc Manus Galleries, Dundee, UK
A temporary corridor installed during gallery upgrading became a canvas on which a group of adult trainees designed and painted a jungle mural over a six week period of development. Visitors to the gallery were able to pass through the corridor while painting was underway and this created many opportunities for trainees to discuss their images while they worked in the public space. The wall was squared off to give each participant an individual area to paint and the idea of a jungle theme came from group discussions at the planning stage of the project. Everyone liked the idea of drawing and painting animals, not always from nature but also imaginary ones and the finished corridor provided a vibrant, colourful and fascinating transitional space between the galleries and proved to be a huge attraction for visitors. The mural was painted on panels and was subsequently installed in the Dudhope Adult Training Centre, Dundee when renovations were complete. 1983
Blackness Environmental Arts Team and Blackness Public Art Programme, Dundee, UK While working as the Assistant Curator of Art for Dundee Museum and Art Gallery, I set up the Blackness Environmental Arts Team to create a series of site specific artworks to improve and regenerate the historical industrial area of Blackness in Dundee. The team employed locally based artists for two years and a range of artworks was designed in close consultation with community, professional and business interests in the area. A public art programme for Blackness evolved from the early successes of the BEAT project and a series of commissioned artworks was begun in 1982 to contribute to buildings, the environment and public interests in the area. The strength of the art initiatives in Dundee depended on the close working relationships that were established between artists, architects, planners, developers, engineers, designers and the public and the possibilities these partnerships created for fully integrating the artworks into the overall improvement schemes for the city. In 1985, as the Blackness Public Art Programme neared completion, a study to identify areas within which public art projects could be developed to contribute to major environmental improvement schemes throughout the city resulted in the Dundee Public Arts Programme. 1981-2002
