Potential tour for mosaic earmarked for Spalding’s Abbey Passage
A ‘spectacular’ mosaic which will eventually decorate a town centre alleyway could be going on a tour before it is finally put up.
Spalding’s Abbey Passage will soon be adorned with the flower parade themed Flos Pompa mosaic thanks to a £35,000 project thanks to funding from the Arts Council England and South Holland District Council.
Transported had been charged with organising the creation of the mosaic, which has now been completed, but it is contacting the Arts Council to see if it is possible for the artwork to go on tour before finally being erected in the town centre alleyway.
This project had come in for a wealth of public criticism with many people feeling that it is a waste of money while others are hoping that it might prevent some of the anti-social behaviour which is happening in the area. It has also come in for some graffiti with a cheeky political message “30k p*** alleyway" left on the wall last year.
Programme director at Transported, Nick Jones, said: “The mural is just being completed. It's truly spectacular. So spectacular in fact we are in discussion with Arts Council to see if there is any way we can tour it before it's permanently installed.
“The Collection in Lincoln are keen to exhibit it, and others have expressed interest.
“Whilst this would be an additional stage to the project, our feeling is that it would be seen by thousands more people, and would raise the profile of a spectacular community mural, the Flower parade and the town.”
The project has been funded by a £30,000 grant from Arts Council England with a further £5,000 from the district council’s Spalding Town Centre Improvement Programme.
Greenfield Pottery has created the Flos Pompa - Latin for flower parade - using ceramic flowers in a project which was expected to take nine months.
Information about the project on the Transported website states that the intention is to create the mural with ‘up to 3,500 residents, school children and groups’. Workshops were due to be held in the area to help create these flowers.
The websites states: “The artwork will explore Spalding’s connection to flowers and tulips, reflecting the town’s cultural and economic history. The intended site for the mural, Abbey Passage, is so named because it stands on the site of the old Abbey, where monks would have used Latin in their Liturgies.
“We have developed an ambitious project to create a colourful and attractive ceramic mural with thousands of residents, inspired by and celebrating the town’s connection with flowers seeds and horticulture.”
The project had been announced in the spring of 2023.
A spokesman for South Holland District Council said: “The Flos Pompa flower mosaic artwork has been completed, and Transported and the council are currently in discussion with Arts Council England around possible opportunities to showcase the works around the local area before it is then mounted in Abbey Passage as planned.”
Along with this project, the council is also working with Transported on the £250,000 Spalding Reconnected scheme, announced in 2023, which has the aim of ‘celebrating and promoting the unique heritage of Spalding’s town and riverside’.
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