UP Projects, in partnership with John Hansard Gallery, are curating and producing three new public artworks for the new Building 75 (formerly known as the North East Quadrant) development at the University of Southampton’s Highfield Campus.
Building 75, when completed in 2027, will provide a cutting-edge new teaching and learning environment. The new commissions will embed art into the everyday life of the campus, creating spaces for reflection and exchange among students, staff and surrounding communities.
Rhona Byrne, Katie Schwab and Tania Kovats appointed for three new public artworks
The three commissions expand on the principles of The Welcoming Campus: Art, People and Nature in Dialogue, the public art strategy for Building 75 developed by UP Projects.
The artists appointed are Dublin-based Rhona Byrne, whose socially engaged practice explores the dynamics of space and participation; Glasgow-based Katie Schwab, whose work draws on histories of craft, learning and material culture; and Devon-based Tania Kovats, whose sculptures mediate our relationship with the natural world.
Rhona Byrne’s The Welcoming Campus commission includes two artworks at two key entry points to the building exploring what it means to arrive, belong and be welcome. Katie Schwab’s Play the Campus commission involves interactive artworks encouraging playful participation and movement around the site. Tania Kovat’s Art + Nature commission will be a sculptural response exploring dialogue between art, people and nature.
Tania Kovats was selected for the Art + Nature commission following a shortlist of artists invited to develop proposals. The shortlist of artists also included London-based Shiraz Bayjoo and Yorkshire-based Invisible Flock.
Together, the commissions will contribute to the vision for an inclusive, accessible campus, with artists encouraged to collaborate with students, academics and local residents throughout the process.
The Welcoming Campus: Art, People and Nature in Dialogue
The Welcoming Campus: Art, People and Nature in Dialogue is the public art strategy developed by UP Projects. It positions art as a central part of how Building 75 will be experienced. Guided by the strategy’s themes, the commissions will welcome, challenge and connect, encouraging dialogue between people, place and nature. Embedding art within campus life has long been a priority for the University of Southampton. This priority was first established in 1956 through Basil Spence’s masterplan for Highfield that embedded sculpture by Barbara Hepworth and F E Mc Williams. Further contemporary artworks across the campus include works by Conrad Shawcross and Neha Choksi.
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