Heritage outdoor art trail begins at Wells

The first-ever outdoor art trail in Wells-next-the-Sea will take place this summer, with a series of fascinating sculptures celebrating the town’s rich and varied history.

All the work in the Wells Heritage Art Trail has been created by Norfolk artists specifically for the event which will open to the public on Saturday, June 23 and which will run until the end of September.

Commissioned by Wells Maltings, the new £5m arts, heritage and community hub on Staithe Street, and funded by the Heritage Lottery, the Wells Heritage Art Trail will feature 17 artworks by 26 artists (some are collaborations), all of which will be for sale.

The Trail has been curated by well-known Wells residents and art experts John and Yvonne Millwood and should take around an hour-and-a-half to complete. Free trail maps will be available from the Maltings complex, which opens at the end of June.

John Millwood explained: “The Trail celebrates the life of the Wells people of sea and shore, past and present, with each artwork telling its own story. It begins in Wells Maltings and then runs to the harbour, with two extensions: one out along East Quay, and then it jumps a mile along the side of the channel, with two works at the Beach Café and one in the pinewoods.

“It’s accessible to all.”

The Art Trail will be made up of all manner of media, including glass, wood, metal, stone and rope, with each of the 17 artworks having been created specifically to reflect its own particular site.

The artists involved in the trail are Kate Allsop and the Wells Ceramic Group, Nick Ball, Nigel Barnett, Tony Bellars, Sarah Caputo and Neal French, Mary Crofts, Kaitlin Ferguson, Polly Ionides, Rachael Long, Debbie Lyddon, Florence North Foster, Linda and Frances Pattrick, Andrew Ruffhead, Andrew Schumann, Gordon Senior, Robert Smith with Heather Tamplin, and Teucer Wilson.

For more information, visit: www.wellsmaltings.org.uk or follow Wells Maltings Trust on Facebook and @WellsMaltings on Twitter.