Kensington + Chelsea Art Week (KCAW) is delighted to present its fifth annual Public Art Trail. West London will be brought to life with vibrant and immersive public art, free for all to enjoy for the duration of the summer. Opening on 18 June, the Public Art Trail will feature world-class sculpture, installations and exhibits throughout the borough. Presented across nine zones, the Art Trail will take up residence at some of West London’s most beautiful and iconic sites, including Napoleon Garden in Holland Park, Sloane Street, Duke of York Square, Royal Avenue, Pavilion Road, Earl’s Court, Notting Hill Gate, Kensington Memorial Park, Brompton Cemetery Chapel, and High Street Kensington.

The final line-up, chosen by an esteemed select committee via an annual Open Call, features: Azarra Amoy, Konstantin Benkovich, Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, Charlotte Colbert, David Böhm & Jiří Franta, Kipling Hunt, Birungi Kawooya & Bokani Tshidzu, Roman Lokati, Maya Sanbar, Richard Mackness and Gavin Turk.

THE 2022 PUBLIC ART TRAIL ARTISTS, INSTALLATIONS AND LOCATIONS

Azarra Amoy returns to KCAW to present Stars of Earl’s Court, a 39-metre Afrofuturism mural paying tribute to local artistic ‘stars’ living and working in the Earl’s Court area, both past and present. Suggestions were submitted via an open call, with many surprising and unexpected names, from visual artists to musicians who frequented the famed Troubadour, to local personalities who continue to shape the area. The mural will be installed on part of the former exhibition site on Warwick Road and is supported by The Earls Court Development Company.

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Azarra Amoy will return to KCAW with two new installations at Earl’s Court and Great Exhibition Road. A Postcard from Modern. Image by Brynley Odu Davies

Moving on to South Kensington’s Museum Quarter, Amoy will also present a powerful installation titled Kaleidoscopic Minds celebrating neurodiverse people and their contribution to arts and sciences through an enormous piece spanning the length of Exhibition Road. Using a kaleidoscopic spectrum of colour, this installation will represent the uniqueness of an individual’s neurodiversity, based on real-life stories and portraits of scientists & students working at the world-famous institutions on Exhibition Road. Co-curated by KCAW and Exhibition Road Cultural Group, opening for the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 18 June 2022.

Charlotte Colbert’s Cellular Amulet installation will be found on Bramley Road, W10. The amulet piece was designed during the lockdown and is inspired by the shape of white blood cells, which form the immune system. Its scale and playful reflective surface remind us that ultimate protection is born of play and togetherness.

Mysteriously landing on the cupola of The Coronet Theatre during the quiet of a global pandemic, Gavin Turk’s The Spirit of Painting sees a lonely figure pose in the adlocutio stance of an Emperor in Ancient Rome addressing his troops. Contra to this heroic posture, this figure portrays the artist in his studio overalls painting the sky with a paintbrush instead of a sword; palette as shield. Originally designed to have a sculpture of Mercury on the roof of the theatre, now the messenger God of commerce has become a prophetic painter of our current hubris. Originally commissioned by The Coronet Theatre.

Home Grown, is a beautiful series of paintings by Kipling Hunt that will be exhibited in Kensington Memorial Park, on the exterior of the Kensington Dragons Football Club building. Featuring beautiful freshly cut plants and drawing on the healing power of flowers and nature, the idea originated in lockdown when Hunt turned the exterior of her own house into an outdoor installation. She wanted to repeat this experience in Kensington Memorial Garden by displaying plants, vegetables and fruit trees, inspiring passers-by to think about what they can nourish and grow.

“I was born in Holland Road and was adopted nine days after my birth through the agency the Crusade of Rescue (now the Catholic Children’s Society), which is based in St Charles Square W10. I moved away with my adopted parents to live in Fulham. Years later I returned to the area when I bought a shared ownership flat with the aid of the Notting Hill Housing Association, located at St. Mark’s Road. I feel I am homegrown in Kensington and Chelsea and now I want to give back something which is close to my heart -hope in the future of all living things if we look after them properly.” – Kipling Hunt

Richard Mackness’ Domus installation on High Street Kensington takes the form of a giant plastic food package, crushed and discarded. The hollow shell has an interior space with the feel of a shelter. Lying on its side on the ground like a felled statue, its smooth, sensuous curves echo the drapery of classical sculpture. Despite appearing to be soft, these are formed in hard grey concrete. This is the quintessential urban material; an ode to the disposable, single-use culture we have come to accept as the norm.

Roman Lokati’s artwork The Chelsea Look, comprises six life-sized metal figures that will be positioned throughout the borough at locations including Royal Avenue, Duke of York Square and Pavilion Road, featuring famed Chelsea characters from Dame Vivienne Westwood to The Chelsea Pensioner as well as looking to the future icons of Chelsea. Supported by Cadogan, Principal sponsor of KCAW.