FT ARTIST: Mixed CLIENT: Public Realm Refresh LOCATION: Coventry SERVICES: Consultancy, design and development
Art to regenerate, reinvigorate and build a legacy
As the city of Coventry gets ready to become UK City of Culture 2021, we are working in collaboration with Coventry City Council and Coventry City of Culture Trust to provide long-term strategic consultancy, project-based design and development and public art engagement schemes.
Due to the sensitive and current nature of our work in Coventry for both the public realm and City of Culture Trust, further detail can only be shared upon request.
“City of Culture 2021 will showcase Coventry’s vibrancy and creativity to the world. This new brand and bold manifesto is an exciting vision of what lies ahead for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Digital and Culture
FT FABRICATOR: Millimetre CLIENT: Coventry City Council LOCATION:Coventry Station SERVICES: Curator / Project Management
INFORMATION PODS WELCOME VISITORS TO COVENTRY
Creative Giants were appointed to design Coventry’s Visitor Information pods. The sculptural shell of the pod structure acts an instantly recognisable sculptural form, inspired by Coventry’s bold architectural history. The octagonal inner core is over-clad by perforated iridescent panels that play with light and colour as the audience perspective moves along the station boulevard.
FT ARTIST: Morag Myerscough CLIENT: Coventry City Council LOCATION: Hertford Street SERVICES: Curator / Project Management
HERTFORD STREET SHOPPING PRECINCT CANOPY TRANSFORMED INTO AN ENDLESS RIBBON OF COLOUR
Morag Myerscough’s “Endless Ribbon Connecting Us” is a dramatic new installation in the canopy of Hertford Street.Myerscough transforms the space with a bold simplicity of light and colour, taking inspiration from Coventry Cathedral’s stained-glass windows.
Using natural light to fuse the colour, Myerscough creates a place where, even with gloomy skies, colours radiate down with a warm glow to materialise in an endless ribbon that connects us all.Hertford Street is no longer an unloved part of town, it is a vibrant, radical beacon that puts the high street location very much on the map.
“The City needs to be the art not just the stage. Artists can be involved in that journey and that conversation and can help with that transformation of place”
Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director, Coventry City of Culture Trust
ARTIST: N.a CLIENT: BRITISH ARTS COLLECTION CENTRE LOCATION: COVENTRY SERVICES: Architect / project management
a cultural masterplan around a new home for the British Arts Council Collection
Creative Giants worked with the public realm team at Coventry City Council to develop a cultural masterplan around a new home for the British Arts Council Collection.
This proposal predominantly saw the development of four key areas surrounding the Arts Council building and gave each space their own character as they act as gateways into the masterplan.
The proposal by Creative Giants looked to make this area of Coventry as eclectic and vibrant as possible.
A bold design approach led to choosing to reveal the River Sherbourne in-front of the new BACC, creating a maker space in the historical Spon Street, a space for urban farming on the roof of Coventry’s Market, and defining a new road layout with pop up activities.
“We involved both established and new artists & makers to harness the creativity of young people in the city.”
ARTIST: N.a CLIENT: COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL LOCATION: PALMER LANE SERVICES: URBAN PLANNING
an industrial site was reimagined, exposing a forgotten river and introducing an exciting new cultural program.
The site sits within the Lady Herbert’s Garden and The Burges Conservation Area. With links to Coventry’s industrial past, Palmer Lane has a rich history in the cloth industry – now it is redeveloped into a green haven within the city.
ARTIST: Mark Jenkins CLIENT: STRONG & CO LOCATION: ITV Tower, London SERVICES: Design, build, promote
EVERY TWO HOURS A MAN IN THE UK TAKES HIS OWN LIFE. It was time to get people talking about it.
Male suicide and mental health is a big issue and charity CALM wanted to stop people in their tracks and get people talking about it.
Working with creative agency Strong & Co and Mark Jenkins, an American artist most widely known for his street sculptures made from packing tape, we built individual sculptures that would represent real lives lost to suicide, placing them in prominent places to raise awareness and trigger debate.
Working with twelve groups of families and friends who lost someone to suicide, Mark built hyper-realistic tape models representing the life of the person they had lost.
Involving the families not only helped the grief process, it created a story that would reinforce the impact of each sculpture. A poignant reminder of a real life and a call to society to come together and ultimately take a stand against male suicide.
The next step was to achieve maximum prominence. Working with CALM we were able to place 84 statues at the top of Television Studios, representing the number of men who die each week. It received incredible press coverage and was the catalyst for the Government’s decision to appoint a suicide prevention minister, inciting structural change through a demonstrable change in government policy.
“Here at This Morning we never shy away from stories that can be difficult to talk about – and without doubt, one of the most heartbreaking is losing a loved one to suicide.”
ARTIST: Thom Yorke CLIENT: XL Records LOCATION: London SERVICES: AV Production
VISUAL PROPAGANDA TO BUILD A BUZZ OF EXPECTATION FOR THOM YORKE’S NEW ALBUM and netflix special, ANIMA
Creative Giants were enlisted by XL records to promote the release of Thom Yorke’s long-awaited third album, Anima.
Working with Tariq Barr, long time collaborator of Thom’s, we created a viral campaign that reinforced the central message of the album and the accompanying Netflix special of the same name.
Working with our artists, we used video mapping technology to high-jack several London landmarks, illuminating them with a series of cryptic statements and artworks. Each piece of art was unique and designed to work within the confines of specific locations.
Mysterious words appeared on small buildings alongside larger, more immersive art work on some of London’s key landmarks. As individual pieces they triggered interest but combined together they created a breadcrumb trail of uncertainty and unpredictability.
The campaign went viral as spectators around the city became intrigued by the mysterious Anima.
“If you suffer from anxiety it manifests itself in unpredictable ways, some people have over-emotional reactions. [For] some people the roots of reality can just get pulled out, you don’t know what’s happening. Then eventually reality comes back.”
ARTIST: Assorted CLIENT: Shangri-la Glastonbury LOCATION: Online SERVICES: Art Curator
A VIRTUAL REIMAGINING OF GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL’S INFAMOUS SHANGRILA
Lost Horizons Festival was created in response to the cancellation of Glastonbury 2020. It was designed to take the festival scene online and celebrate music virtually.
Working with Lost Horizons, we connected International D.J’s with award-winning artists to build a series of complex visual layers that would complement and enhance the music – a visual feast for the eyes.
Using our experience working with technology, we elevated the idea of using public art as a backdrop and built an avatar of world-famous artist Paul Insect so that we could invite people to ‘become’ a part of the phenomena.
The audio-visual spectacle was reminiscent of Glastonbury’s Shangri-La but delivered something new and exciting that responded to the needs of a virtual audience.
Four million people watched the live online extravaganza, making it the largest virtual arts and music festival in the world.
“It was spooky how similar it was to the real thing. I met up with friends, made new ones, was able to make an avatar that could dance – with moves I could never pull off in real life – and the classic festival experience of bimbling between areas, overhearing conversations and marveling at the wonderful looks people had created for themselves was just like people watching at a festival.”
Kaye Dunnings, Creative director of Shangri-La and Lost Horizon
ARTIST: Iva Troj CLIENT: Halo Infinite LOCATION: Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea and Louvre Museum, Paris. SERVICES: Curator/ Project Management
A CELEBRATION To mark the launch of Halo Infinite, the latest instalment in the iconic video game franchise
Created by Iva Troj, the Brighton-based 2016 Palm Award Winner and 2019 CAF Artist Of The Year, the 6m x 3m canvas depicts in minute detail a scene inspired by Halo Infinite. The scene shows franchise protagonist, The Master Chief, locked in battle with his alien enemy: the spark of rebellion in the center of the painting ignites scores of battles nearby, as the Chief inspires the marines around him to become heroes.
The work was created in Troj’s Brighton studio using oil on canvas, with details and techniques that Troj is known for in her original works, which typically blend Renaissance and postmodern styles giving a dreamlike feel. Titled the ‘Master Piece”, playing on Halo’s lead character’s name, the piece elevates a decades-old cultural icon from pop culture to high culture, blending Renaissance art with cutting edge entertainment and reminding fans and new audiences alike that videogames are, indeed, works of art.
“I spent a long time immersing myself in Halo’s universe to bring this to life in the manner of an old master but depicting a modern battle, and I hope Halo fans and gamers everywhere enjoy the results – including those smaller Easter eggs that you might not notice at first glance.”
Iva Troj
“Xbox and Halo both turned 20 last month and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate that than with such unique activities, giving our fans and the public a chance to see something special.”
“They are a fitting way to conclude what has been a string of successful AAA game releases over recent weeks.”