The Piece Hall Trust have announced a new partnership with Grand Central as Community Sponsor of the Trust’s first visual arts commission. The partnership will support an extensive programme of events linked to artist David Murphy’s work – ‘The Blanket’, as well as a public launch event on Friday 25 January.
The support from Grand Central has endorsed the work of the Heritage and Learning team
at The Piece Hall Trust who are creating a ten-week long programme of educational activities and community projects for schools, adults and families. More than one thousand local people are anticipated to take part in the events that will take place at the Grade I listed building until 7 April. The Heritage and Learning team is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Nicky Chance-Thompson, Chief Executive for The Piece Hall Trust, commented: “It is fantastic to have the support of Grand Central for the activities surrounding our very first sculpture commission. It is important to us that we work closely with like-minded organisations and Grand Central share our commitment to building a creative cultural participation programme for Halifax and Calderdale. We have worked closely with Grand Central since becoming a travel partner soon after we re-opened and it is wonderful to involve them further and set the seal on our relationship.”
Sean English, Chief Operating Officer for Grand Central, added: “We’re delighted to be on board as community sponsor for Piece Hall Trust’s first sculpture exhibition. It’s a real pleasure to support an initiative designed to bring arts and heritage to life for communities in and around Halifax and Calderdale. The team has planned an extensive programme of engagement activities, which are a fantastic way to make sculpture more accessible to people of all ages.
“We are looking forward to transporting people to the events so they can discover this exciting new cultural experience for themselves.”
Commissioned in partnership with Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) and co-funded by the Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant programme, the Foyle Foundation and the John S Cohen Foundation, ‘The Blanket’ is a large-scale floor-based sculpture, positioned at the heart of the 66,000sq ft piazza from 25 January – 7 April 2019.
