The UK’s First World War centenary arts programme,14-18 NOW, is inviting expressions of interest from locations wanting to host the Tower of London poppy sculptures in 2017.
14-18 NOW says its criteria for choosing venues to display Wave and Weeping Window include:
*Ability to provide free access to view the work
*Appropriate space to install the sculptures
*Relevant resonance with the heritage of the First World War
In 2016, Weeping Window will tour to St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney, for the Battle of Jutland Centenary; the Black Watch Museum at Balhousie Castle, Perth; and Caernarfon Castle, originally the base of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Wave will be displayed at Lincoln Castle, remembering the city where the first operational tank was built in 1916.
The opening year of the poppies’ UK tour in 2015 attracted more than 800,000 people, says 14-18 NOW.
The sculptures were displayed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland, and St George’s Hall in Liverpool.
Wave and Weeping Window were originally part of the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation of 888,246 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London in 2014, commemorating every death in the British and colonial forces during the Great War.
The project’s creators, Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, are among the judges deciding locations for their presentation around Britain. Also on the panel are IWM Director-General Diane Lees; the paralympic athlete and broadcaster, Ade Adepitan; and Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW.
Wave and Weeping Window will continue to tour the UK until the autumn of 2018. The two sculptures, numbering over 10,000 poppies, have been saved for the nation by the Backstage Trust and the Clore Duffield Foundation, and gifted to 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums.
The deadline for applications to host the poppies in 2017 is 10am on Monday February 29th 2016. For enquires about the application process, or to receive an information pack, please email 14-18 NOW: poppies@1418now.org.uk
‘Wave’ and ‘Weeping Window’ 2016 display dates can be found in the 14-18 NOW 2016 season brochure, together with details of the rest of this year’s UK WW1 cultural programme.
Source: 14-18 NOW
Images: Centenary News
Posted by: CN Editorial Team