Summary

Barking Town Centre Artscape comprises fifteen public artworks that have been commissioned by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD). These artworks are part of a wider regeneration scheme in Barking, a town to the east of Greater London that was developed wholesale in the 1950s and which has little arts provision.

Currently nearing completion, Barking Town Centre Artscape is being curated and managed by Tracey McNulty and Peter Watson at LBBD. This in-house approach has been possible due to the capacity built at LBBD during its management of A13 Artscape, a previous major public art scheme in Barking and Dagenham that was devised and curated by independent consultants Working pArts.

The local community has been extensively involved in Barking Town Centre Artscape in a variety of ways.

Two artworks in the Barking Town Centre Artscape scheme, an underpass by Raphael Daden and a sculpture by Simon Watkinson, are featured in this study.