Wellingborough Town Centre
27th August – Early November 2012
Foot Steps responded to a commissioning opportunity advertised by Northampton County Council. Their brief, to make a piece for a project called Global Footprint celebrating Northamptonshire’s shoe industry, was spotted by company member Chris Dugrenier and it seemed almost to have been written for The Steps Series. After winning one of the commissions a discussion with the county’s arts team led to the Wellingborough being selected as the project’s location.
Foot Steps was a chance to explore the extended use of temporary outdoor paint. The plan was to spread a series of scenes around the town’s streets with a central focus indoors in the Swansgate Centre. A tour of the town and research into its history prompted a series of scenes mixed between legacies of the shoe industry and fables from the town’s past, including an April Fools Day prank in 1959 which involved someone painting white footsteps through the town centre.
Encouraged by the excellent detail achieved in Golden Steps we used a number of ambitious design elements which proved challenging when faced with the variable surfaces around the town centre. Installing on the street was time consuming but public feedback was encouraging and reminded us of people’s enthusiasm for the project. When all elements were installed a Google Map was set up to help people navigate the full set.
View Foot Steps by Stan’s Cafe in a larger map
Credits
Devised by James Yarker, Simon Ford and Denise Stanton with Craig Stephens
Design by Simon Ford
Installed by Denise Stanton, Simon Ford, Jake Oldershaw, Alice Greenham, Chris Dugrenier, James & Eve Yarker
Commissioned by the GLOBAL FOOTPRINT project, a celebration of Northamptonshire’s boot and shoe industry, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
With thanks to: Swansgate Centre, The Castle Theatre, Borough Council of Wellingborough and Northamptonshire County Council (esp. Graham Callister).
Temporary paint supplied by : 
