New public art pays homage to Hereford's art school history

New public art has been installed in Hereford - the second work commissioned through a creative collaboration between contemporary arts organisation Meadow Arts and Hereford College of Arts.

The works by Matthew Cornford and John Beck - two large scale pieces featuring the word art in a collage-style - are inspired by “the fast-flowing and bold visual environment of competing signs and signals” of a main road into Hereford. 

It’s attached to the student accommodation building at No 1 Station Approach, next door to Hereford Railway Station, and replaces the colour popping installation of work by Lothar Götz.

Announcing the work, Meadow Arts said: “In some way the artists are also advertising the power of art to inspire and nurture but also invigorate a community and play an important role in a system such as a town itself.”

And in a nod to Hereford’s creative history, the typeface used by Cornford and Beck is the same as once used by HCA in its promotional literature.

With this new work - one of 15 capital projects being funded by the Government’s Towns Fund Scheme in Hereford - HCA and Meadow Arts are marking 170 years of creative education in the city, and said this project forms just part of a year-long programme of events and projects celebrating the art college’s anniversary.

The Art School Project will feature exhibitions, talks and events as Cornford and Beck spend time in Hereford exploring the history of Britain’s art school system, its regional variations, complex educational and political contexts, and vital cultural legacies. 

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Image showing the artwork attached to the side of a four storey red-brick building. The artwork is the word 'art' in stylised letters in black, red and blue
Image showing the second artwork attached to the side of a four storey red-brick building. This piece has the word 'art' four times in differing typeface styles.