A stunning bronze sculpture trail featuring works by Salvador Dali and local artist Jacob Chandler form the centrepiece of the Shrewsbury Arts Trail 2023 (June 1 to August 31).
The theme of ‘Movement’ this year, commemorates the 350th anniversary of the birth of John Weaver aka ‘The Shrewsbury Dance Master’.
The Shrewsbury Arts Trail is back bigger than ever for 2023, with a new bronze sculpture trail by the master of surrealism Salvador Dali and Midlands based artist Jacob Chandler, as well as a host of exhibitions, workshops and other events across town during the summer season. See the full line up of Shrewsbury Arts Trail events HERE
The sculpture trail, supported by Shrewsbury BID has seen Dali’s famous ‘Surrealist Piano’ (1954) installed outside Shrewsbury Castle (pictured above), whilst ‘Homage to Terpsichore’ (conceived in 1977), which depicts a goddess of dance, is sited in the courtyard at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.
Jacob Chandler's 'Poise and Tension III' being installed in The Dingle pond
And the elegant ‘Poise and Tension III’ a steel sculpture by Midlands based artist Jacob Chandler can be found rising up from The Dingle pond (Jacob creates large public works of art including a two and a half metre tall 'bladed' athlete completed for the Commonwealth Games). All three are in tune with the theme of ‘Movement’ in honour of Shrewsbury Dancing Master John Weaver - the father of English ballet and pantomime, who was born here in 1673. ‘Homage to Terpsichore’ (pictured below, at Shrewsbury Museum by Charlene Burrows) features one of the nine muses of Greek mythology representing the goddess of dance.
Last year, the trail included works by Andrew Logan - his giant, glittering, mirrored sculptures proved a huge hit throughout the summer, especially the four metre high ‘Cosmic Egg’ outside Shrewsbury Castle and ‘Excalibur’ rising up out of The Dingle. A major exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery also included pieces by many world-famous artists plus a vibrant exhibition of local artists' work.
The 2022 Shrewsbury Arts Trail featured glittering sculptures by artist Andrew Logan, pictured here with his 'Cosmic Egg'
The 2023 theme of 'Movement’ links with an upcoming celebration of the life of John Weaver - aka The Shrewsbury Dancing Master - the father of English ballet and pantomime, who was born in Shrewsbury in 1673. The John Weaver Festival, commemorating the 350th anniversary of his birth is to be held at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn this July, and will see a performance by The Weaver Ensemble (Theatre Severn, July 21), a world- renowned company of musicians, dancers and actors.
Local artists have been invited to submit works for the Shrewsbury Arts Trail 2023, inkeeping with the theme, to be shown in exhibitions across town. These will include ‘Be Inspired’ at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery (July 1st to August 31st) which will be showing some smaller Dali sculptures including 'Nobility of Time' (pictured below) on loan from Clarendon Fine Art.
There will be a great many further exhibitions at The Soden Collection, Raven Studios, The Gateway Gallery, The Hive, Visual Art Network Gallery, Mrs Jones Art Shop & Gallery, Bear Steps Gallery, St Mary's Church, The Parade Shopping Centre and Theatre Severn and a whole host of others! See www.shrewsburyartstrail.com/what-s-on
'Nobility of Time' © The Dalí Universe AlP S.L. (sculptures kindly loaned by Clarendon Fine Art) and a portrait of Salvador Dali by Robert Descharnes, his photographer and archivist in the 1960s & 1970s
Creative Director Jess Richards of Shrewsbury Arts and Crafts said: “We’re now in our third year of Shrewsbury Arts Trail. It’s gone from a dream to a reality. The ethos is to put Shrewsbury on the map for arts and showcasing the creativity and artistic talent of our region.“This year, we’re also planning a series of family focused workshops and activities and talks to tie in with the theme, plus we’ve got visual art, glass, ceramics, photography (mixed media) 16 exhibitions in multiple venues including over 590 regional artists.”
The Arts Trail will also see the return of the popular ‘Secret Art Sale’ at The Soden Collection on August 20th and the stained glass festival and exhibition at St Mary’s Church during the whole month of August.
Shrewsbury Arts Trail organiser Jess Richards pictured with sculptor Andrew Logan in 2022
Jess began talks with The Dali Universe in July 2022, immediately following the previous trail. The company manages one of the largest private collections of Dali artworks in the world and is headed by Italian art dealer Beniamino Levi, who worked with Dali in the 1960s. The Dali Universe Collection features the largest grouping of Salvador Dali bronze sculptures, surrealist furniture, gold objects, glass sculpture, hand signed graphics, gouaches and other artworks assembled over 40 years.
Artworks from the collection have toured and been loaned to over 100 prestigious museums across the globe. Its 20 bronze sculptures are amongst the most famous iconographic images ever created by Dali. The Dali Universe has a flagship exhibition in the heart of Paris, in Montmartre.
“We had confirmation they were happy to work with us following a site visit from their UK representatives at Clarendon Fine Art,” Jess said.
Jess leads a team of participants and volunteers, including project manager Phil Langstaff, installations and import manager Ross Callaghan, social media strategist and admin for art submissions Kat Perston, website manager Naomi Adams, workshop manager Clare Bear from the social enterprise LovelyLand, Jonathan Soden of The Soden Collection, plus more than 40 volunteers.
