BBC Essex Radio Interview with Lu Williams

An interview with artist Lu Williams on BBC Essex with presenter Rob Jelly, to discuss their new public art commission for Southend-on-Sea. 

Focal Point Gallery and Creative Estuary are delighted to announce the commission of a new, major public artwork that will welcome visitors and residents to the UK’s newest City – Southend-On-Sea. Lu Williams’ impactful, ambitious, and fun concept will transform the current, uninspiring ‘gateway’ to the city’s famous High Street, as approached from Southend Victoria and Victoria Avenue.

As a seaside town, Southend-on-Sea has been a place of tourism since the early nineteenth century. In the 1970s, people also began collecting fridge magnets of Southend to remember their visit. For the public commission, they will combine these typical sea town souvenirs with the iconic imagery of the Gates of Paradise by Italian sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455). Williams’ new public artwork will consist of several large scale fridge magnet sculptural reliefs based upon an extensive period of public consultations.

New Public Art Commission for Southend Town Centre | Focal Point Gallery (fpg.org.uk)