Artists from Wales, England, Scotland, USA, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Slovenia, Norway, France, Spain, Germany and Japan are leading an international response to a ground breaking zero carbon energy project in Swansea Bay, Wales.
Mags Harries, Lajos Heder, Ingrid Hu, Andy Pink, Peter Wall, Timo Von Kreigstein, Vesta Kroese and Manja Van De Worp are just some of the names included in a short-list of finalists for an international sculpture commission to be sited within the footprint of the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.
More than 100 local and international artists from all disciplines and ages submitted artwork. Developed and promoted by international charity Cape Farewell, the commission will be funded by Tidal Lagoon Power Limited with £10,000.00 prize money. The short-list of entries includes sculptural physical forms, kinetic sculptures, sound events, word sculptures – each of which have addressed in some form, the challenge of tidal power, lunar cycles, energy production and a celebration of the culture of Swansea.
Chief Executive of Tidal Lagoon Power Limited, Mark Shorrock said: “Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon provides a new template; a power station that creates a public amenity and has the potential for low carbon power and culture to flourish together. Working with international charity Cape Farewell, we have established a cultural programme to create a forum for artists, scientists and communicators to be brought together to stimulate the production of art founded in scientific research. We have been blown away by the calibre of the submissions. This is an exciting initiative that we hope will lead to Swansea Bay tidal lagoon becoming a must visit cultural destination as well as the world’s first tidal lagoon. Engaging artists with a major infrastructure project is one of the visions we had for Swansea Bay tidal lagoon when we set out on this journey. To see us take this first step towards that reality is brilliant.”
At 320MW installed capacity, with first power expected in 2018, Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon will be the largest marine energy development in the world. Developed by Tidal Lagoon Power Limited, it will have an entirely predictable 495GWh output each year of clean, green electricity and is estimated that it will power 155,000 homes for 120 years – that’s about 11% of Wales’ domestic use.