New film showcases Tideway's public art programme for first time

Tideway’s ambitious programme of public artwork is the subject of a new documentary which premiered as part of the Totally Thames Festival in September.

The film, Art on the Tideway, offers the first detailed look at a handful of the commissions, speaking with five artists and exploring a range of production techniques, from photography to bronze-work.

More than 50 works by almost 40 artists form Tideway’s programme of public art – some temporary murals on the construction site hoardings, others permanent works that will far outlive the construction life of the project.

And for this first time, Art on the Tideway offers an insight into some of the works and the artists behind them.

The screening was followed by a Q&A with one of the featured artists, those behind the public art strategy and the filmmaker producing the project.

Bridget Sawyers, Tideway’s Public Art Consultant, said: “The scale of the Tideway project, with sites located along the Thames, presented a wonderful opportunity to provide public art for these new and existing areas of public realm.

“We asked the artists to respond to aspects of the heritage of the local area, and this film really showcases the talent and thought that our artists brought to the project.”

Two temporary commissions are included in the film – from John Walter, who produced the colourful and imaginative hoarding artwork at Chambers Wharf in Bermondsey; and Simon Roberts, whose photographic collage of mudlarking finds adorns the hoardings at Victoria Embankment.

Elsewhere, the film also looks at permanent public commissions for Tideway’s sites in Acton, Barn Elms, Putney, Carnwath Road in Fulham, and Dormay Street in Wandsworth, featuring Sarah Staton, Claire Barclay and Yemi Awosile.