Herefordshire-based artist Celia Johnson is working with Year 10 students from Wigmore High School to co-create an artwork for a new public art project in Hereford City Centre this spring.

The GCSE art students have been exploring found typefaces in and around Hereford and investigating the concept of the “art school”. The starting point for the project comes from a visit to see the Cornford and Beck installation, commissioned by Meadow Arts and Hereford College of Arts, at No.1 Station Approach, a student-led screen printing workshop and a studio tour at Hereford College of Arts.

For their collaborative co-created piece to be site-specific and responsive to the location where it will be situated, Celia led a walking and observational ‘drawing’ workshop in Hereford city centre. Follow-up sessions by the artist in the school setting have involved using various art techniques to design and create a collaborative final design for a text-based sign that will be fabricated and installed on Maylord Street.

Eight new contemporary artworks for Hereford City Centre have been jointly commissioned by Hereford College of Arts and Meadow Arts to celebrate 170 years of creative education in the city. Residents and visitors will be able to discover these exciting new works across the city centre from spring 2024.

The sculpture trail is part of the Art + People + Place programme. It is part of the £6 million Hereford City Centre Improvements (HCCI) project. The overall project aims to refurbish the historic core of Hereford through investment in the streetscape, landscaping and public realm and is funded jointly by the council and Marches LEP.