The Gallery Farringdon Arts and Architecture

Antoni Gaudi’s paving along the Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona

On the 26/1/2011 the Gallery on Cowcross Road, Farringdon hosted an architectural and arts based discussion on the importance and role artists have when creating installations for architects. The speakers discussed how their work is often the first to be cut from the budget but can often have the most positive effect to its context. They also spoke about how there are two types of developers those who want to make a profit from a site and quickly sell it on and those who care about the area and are working for a positive change. It is the second type that is usually the developer that will incorporate arts within their plans.

An interesting point that came up within this discussion was how art that is incorporated within a plan doesn't have to involve a large sculpture in the centre of the high street which is the usual stereotypical image associated with public arts. Many contemporary art projects that are now used may only involve the design of a custom brick that can be easily produced and used in a subtle approach. An example of this is Antoni Gaudi’s paving along the Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona which has become an iconic part of Barcelona.