Dewsbury Creative Town art commission set to ‘brighten’ up Rishworth Road Underpass

Kirklees Council has commissioned a new artwork - which will be created on the walls of the Rishworth Road Underpass - aiming to renew, provide functionality, and offer passers-by an uplifting environment when walking through the subway.

The commission has been designed by Dewsbury-based visual artist Saba Rifat. Saba has taken inspiration from the historical and urban brickwork, paving and stained glass windows around the town centre.

Saba has also worked with design students from Kirklees College to form ideas, and has held engagement events for the general public to get involved.

The commission has been entitled ‘Tessella’, a feminine Latin word to describe square tiles of stone and glass used in mosaics.

This ‘tessellating’ process will be used to create the surface patterns for the underpass walls.

Saba said: “This commission has been a huge undertaking, but I’m excited to see the final design in situ later this month.

“The design process for this project has been extremely methodical and time-consuming, as well as intuitive and fun, so it will be very rewarding to see the finished piece.”

The art installation designed by Saba is part of the Dewsbury Creative Town Arts Programme, funded by the council as part of its ambitious ten-year Dewsbury Blueprint project.

Kate Watson, programme manager for Dewsbury Creative Town, said: “It’s great to finally announce when the installation of Tessella will begin, and we hope the people of Dewsbury will enjoy seeing it take shape over the coming weeks.

“Saba’s commission promises to be vibrant as well as engaging, so we hope it creates conversations and a pleasant environment for users to experience on a daily basis.”

To allow cleaning of the existing surface to make way for the installation, the underpass will be closed to the public between 6.30am and 9.30am on Monday, October 17 and Tuesday, October 18.

The installation itself will then take place on the week commencing October 24, with the process expected to take one week.

Once completed, the installation will include 3,000 tiles, and will greatly improve the space for passers-by.

The tiles will be placed on top of existing artwork in the underpass, which was created by Kirklees College students several years ago.

Councillor Eric Firth, cabinet member for transport and a ward councillor for Dewsbury, said: “I’m incredibly excited to see this new art installation take shape.

“As part of our Dewsbury Blueprint plans, we want to celebrate that Dewsbury is a creative town by celebrating local artists and inspiring new ones.

“This public art will provide an exciting and creative dimension to the town centre.

“This artwork will be particularly meaningful for Dewsbury because it’s been commissioned from a talented, locally-based artist, and because it’s inspired by the history and heritage of the town.

“All our work through the Blueprint is about celebrating Dewsbury’s history whilst also looking to the future.”

The Dewsbury Blueprint is a ten-year plan that seeks to honour the heritage of the town and build on recent investments. The plan also aims to bring more activity to the town centre, make it more attractive and improve accessibility.

For more infomation, visit https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/dewsbury-blueprint/index.aspx