The Arts Society Kington Langey sponsor Art @The Station Project at Chippenham Station

ART@ the STATION

was conceived by The Arts Society and has developed to comprise a rolling series of Art from young artists in the public space of a station’s Waiting Room, Ticket Hall or Platform, giving the students a rare chance to have their work displayed within a ‘real exhibition’, publicly.

The Arts Society is a leading arts education charity with a global network of local Societies which bring people together through a shared curiosity for the arts.

The belief that the arts have the potential to enrich peoples’ lives is at the heart of everything we do. We support arts education and work with other organisations across the country to celebrate, encourage and create opportunities for all to engage with art in its widest form.

The Arts Society Kington Langley, has supported through its Arts Volunteering programme numerous arts activities in Chippenham and the local area.

Working now in conjunction with Trans Wilts, Chippenham Station and Chippenham Museum we wish to celebrate the amazing artwork produced in our local schools and Chippenham Museum’s Camera Club.

We thank the students and teachers of Abbeyfield School, Chippenham Museum Camera Club, Hardenhuish School, Sheldon School, Chippenham and St Mary’s School, Calne for selecting and sharing some of their work with us for this exhibition.

As Chippenham is a heritage station, and walking in Brunel’s footsteps, we were not able to put any work on the walls and the waiting rooms were glass boxes. So, thinking outside the glass boxes was certainly called for.

Each school sent me a selection of their A Level painting, and the Museum Camera Club submitted a range of landscapes and digital manipulations. We selected the pieces we felt fitted best into the spaces available and then we asked a design company to print the work onto vinyl.

These vinyl sheets had microdots on the backing sheets which made them resilient to wear and easy to put up - once you had the right ambient temperature. We tried last December and the cold glass just froze the sheets and they tore. So, we had to wait for good weather and a temperature of 15%!

This Bank Holiday weekend was a good mix of sun, temperature, availability of GWR staff and few passengers – Friday is a non-travelling day into London these days!

After we cleaned the glass, the work was easily displayed using a cardboard template to make sure all the pieces were the same distance from the top of the glass. The design company had given us the instructions and the tools to make sure the work was easily rubbed into place with no air bubbles.

As we couldn’t use stepladders we had a few pieces of work left over after completing the displays in the two waiting rooms. This meant that we were able to extend the display into the glass entrance way in the main carpark so even more passengers will be able to enjoy the work. In all 36 pieces were displayed and are a real celebration of the quality of art in the local schools and museum.

We all hope you enjoy the exhibition as you wait to start your journeys from Chippenham station.

The Arts Society Kington Langley would like to thank the Chippenham Station Manager for her support in creating this exhibition in the waiting rooms. Thank you also to Sophie from Trans Wilts and for their sponsorship in celebrating the arts and the benefits that enjoying and participating in the arts brings to communities

Heather Leach

Chair the Arts Society Kington Langley

Heather.artssociety@gmail.com