Creating a welcome like no other

Nationally renowned and award-winning artists Kenny Hunter and Diane Maclean have been unveiled as the winners of a high profile competition to design stunning new entrances onto Anchor Green, adjacent to the Scottish Seabird Centre.

The Gateway Project, a collaborative venture with East Lothian Council’s Arts Service, was launched in February 2011 and invited original submissions from artists across the UK to establish a strong sense of place and belonging while reflecting the unique heritage and environment of the historic area around the Seabird Centre.

Two very different designs have been selected out of the 30 that were submitted: three finalists were shortlisted and a judging panel and public vote decided on the winning designs following a closely fought contest.

The judging panel consisted of Graeme Todd from Polarcap Artistic Consultants; Hew Dalrymple, trustee of the Scottish Seabird Centre; Lesley Smith, from East Lothian Council’s Arts Service and Tom Brock OBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre.

The Centre is now working closely with Kenny and Diane on their winning submissions to create bespoke pieces of art that could be unveiled later in 2012 (the Year of Creative Scotland) if funding can be secured: the cost of each work of art is estimated at £30k.

Kenny’s life-sized metal figure, looking through binoculars out to the Bass Rock, would become an iconic landmark on the main approach to the award-winning Scottish Seabird Centre. Diane’s metal arch would create a very impressive gateway to Anchor Green and the Centre from the town’s historic harbour and vice versa.

Information on the artists

Kenny Hunter

Musselburgh born and currently residing in Glasgow, Kenny Hunter studied sculpture at Glasgow School of Art between 1983 and 1987. He has exhibited extensively abroad and in the UK including solo exhibitions at Arnolfini (Bristol, 1998), The Scottish National Portrait Gallery (2000), The Centre for Contemporary Arts (2003), Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2006), Tramway (2008), Galerie Scheffel, (Germany 2008) and Conner Contemporary, in the US (2009).

Kenny Hunter is primarily a sculptor engaged in making monumental work, across a range of materials, meticulously made using traditional sculptural methods and found objects.

He summarises his work as ‘an attempt to translate the longstanding historical and political ambitions of traditional figurative sculpture into a revised sculptural language appropriate to the current cultural situation’.

Hunter has created a number of high profile commissioned works in the UK including ‘iGoat’(2010) for Bishops Square, London and 'Youth with Split Apple' (2005) for Kings College, Aberdeen. In 2010 he was awarded the ’Greatest Scot Commission’ to create an artwork for the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.

www.kenny-hunter.com

Diane Maclean FRBS

Diane Maclean is a sculptor and environmental artist. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK and around the world, with many sculptures held in public and private collections. 

She has roots in the Black Isle and is a member of the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.  Her iconic cross-media work ‘Legend’ won National Lottery funding as have several other projects.  In 2004/ 2005 she worked with scientists at the University of Guelph and the Canada Centre for Inland Waters to create ‘Lovely Weather’ an exhibition about climate change, which subsequently travelled to the Crawford Art Centre, St Andrews and the Gracefield Art Centre, Dumfries.

Recent public art commissions include ‘Stranded Heart’ Glenfield Hospital Leicester; ‘Shoots’ Chelmer Valley Park & Ride Chelmsford and ‘The Wigston Tree’ South Leicestershire College.

Recent exhibitions and projects include ‘Bird’ Killhope Mining Museum County Durham; ‘A Celebration of British Sculpture’ University of Leicester Botanic Garden and ‘Interventions’ Aberfoyle. In 2012 her sculpture will be exhibited in Ekeberg Sculpture Park, Oslo and she has recently been awarded a commission by Keele University. Dundee has commissioned three of her sculptures, including ‘DNA Dundee’ 2005.

www.dianemaclean.co.uk