The Beaney Art Wall

The Beaney art wall is prominently located in the new Best Lane entrance foyer and can be viewed from the ground floor, mezzanine and feature staircase. The space will be used to explore and showcase the creativity of the building’s collections and visitors through artwork created by Kent based artists and commissioned by The Beaney.

This is the second Beaney Art Wall Commission and is created by Dan Simpson and Mark John Smith.

The first stage of the commission was the creation of a new poem for the Beaney through Twitter crowdsourcing, led by poet Dan Simpson. Crowdsourced poetry works by Dan setting a theme or spur word, in this case #discoverpoem and then collecting responses from the public through social networks, email and post. Dan then edited these into a brand new poem, which is then owned by the community that created it.

The second stage of the commission was the creation of the artwork by Mark John Smith, a Canterbury based visual artist. Mark’s creative practice is one that blends community engagement with new technologies. Mark combined the crowdsourced text with a series of vibrant photographic images. “The images are all taken by me and are reflective of my ‘discoveries’ made from Kent as a base/home. Locations include Rome, Paris, New York, London, Madrid, inside and airplane and Hong Kong. The works designed to highlight both potential and an emerging narrative through the exploration of site and place in reading and viewing – a collection of experience. Many images are shot with a looking up vantage point to promote intrigue and ambition” Mark John Smith.
The process and final artwork relates to the overall vision for the Beaney by promoting cultural excellence and innovation and by encouraging active community participation. It also meets the priorities of both the Library and Archive and Museum and Gallery strands: by promoting reading and literacy, promoting digital inclusion, bringing people together, nurturing creativity and actively engaging and collaborating with the public and local organisations.

Read the Discover Poem by Dan Simpson here

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