Kilmarnock Foregate sculpture crowned Brighten Scotland champ
03 Feb 2012 12:33:46
The sculpture which graces Kilmarnock’s Foregate car park has sped ahead of the competition and bagged the top prize in the hit nationwide contest, Brighten Scotland.
The competition invited nominations from all over the country in a quest to locate Scotland’s most deserving public structure for a free metal make-over. Dozens of entries flooded in from around Scotland, vying for the judges’ attention, but the sculpture adorning Kilmarnock’s multi-storey car park has come out top and scooped the colourful prize.
Over the next few weeks, the car park’s gable artwork will be taken down and transformed using Colourgalv– a fusion of traditional hot-dip galvanizing and powder colour coating – to give a bright finish capable of fending off the Ayrshire elements for up to a century. The colour scheme will be decided by East Ayrshire Council and the revamped centrepiece will be unveiled in due course.
The sculpture made its debut on the car park in the 1990s and remains in good condition thanks to the previous galvanized coating, but the grey finish makes it almost impossible for passers-by to pick out the impressive detail of the piece.
Geoff Crowley, Managing Director of Highland Galvanizers & Colour Coaters said: “This winning structure perfectly demonstrates the philosophy behind Brighten Scotland.
“The mounted sculpture is a beautiful piece of art but blends into its surroundings instead of standing out.
“Giving the artwork a colour coating will draw attention to the detail of the sculpture and breathe new life into Kilmarnock’s main shopping area.
“The Highland team is very much looking forward to transforming Kilmarnock’s winning structure and showing local residents and visitors to the town just how much difference a little colour can make to our surroundings.”
The judging panel was faced with a very strong shortlist but felt the artwork in Kilmarnock presented a great opportunity to brighten up the built environment and highlight a hidden artistic gem.
Other structures to make the shortlist included seating in Gordon Park in Ellon in Aberdeenshire, a sculpture at Kildonan Museum on South Uist, a set of park benches in Cunningham-Watt park in Stewarton, fencing around the Robert Burns statue in Paisley’s Fountain Park and the gates to Duns Park in the Scottish Borders.
Councillor Jim Buchanan spokesperson for Delivering Community Regeneration of East Ayrshire Council said: “We’re delighted that Kilmarnock’s Multi Storey Car Park has won this striking makeover.
“This treatment will give a new emphasis to the design of the metalwork on the building and provide a strong focal point for Kilmarnock Town Centre at a time when we are actively regenerating and promoting it as a great place to work, shop and live.”
Ends
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of Highland Galvanizers and Colour Coaters
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