Welcome to the public art page where you can find pictures and information on public art in Spelthorne, including ArtWalk and the Staines Public Art Trail. Public Art can range from sculpture to lighting schemes, street furniture such as benches to temporary pieces of art such as performances or visual arts projects. Its uniting feature, despite being found in so many forms, is that public art is any artwork not confined to a traditional gallery space and freely accessible to the public.
Spelthorne Borough Council has a long tradition of encouraging public art through the planning process of new developments. Often a small percentage of the cost of a new development is put aside to be spent on public art through a scheme known as "Percent for Art." As the name suggests, around one percent of development costs are put towards public works of art. This is most apparent in Staines where developments such as Two Rivers Shopping Centre and the pedestrianised High street have included a variety of art works, but has also been applied elsewhere in the Borough.
