New art for Hertford subway galleries

Hertford secondary school students have visited a recently refurbished subway to see how their art has transformed the subway into a modern art gallery.

The project for London Road and St Andrew Street started in 2020 with funding from the Aldi Development and a grant from Defra for air quality improvements. The aim of the project is to improve active travel routes to encourage more people to walk and cycle, leaving their car at home for shorter journeys.

For the third year in a row, the students from Richard Hale School, The Sele School and Simon Balle All-through school have provided art for the London Road subway in Hertford. The project gives young people the opportunity to display their work in a public space and at the same time improving the local environment for everyone.

Phil Bibby, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, Hertfordshire County Council said "This really is a great project, working with both local schools and the community to encourage active travel, reduce car use and improve the environment"

"It forms part of Hertfordshire County Council subway refurbishment programme and links into both the Local Transport Plan and the Corporate Plan vision of ‘creating a cleaner, greener, healthier Hertfordshire for all'".

Local councillor and former Hertford Mayor Cllr Bob Deering joined with the current Mayor Cllr Sue Barber to see the latest art installation.

Cllr Deering said: "I am very proud of our gifted young students who have once again produced outstanding work for everyone to enjoy. This subway is a popular route for access into town and to the local schools and we want to encourage more walking and cycling across the town."

Ian Hawkins, Headteacher at Richard Hale school said "It is great for the students to have the opportunity to contribute to a local community project, which enables the community to enjoy their work. This project has allowed the students to showcase their talents to a wide audience and we are very proud of all the students involved."

A spokesperson for Sele school said "This project really enables us to showcase some of the incredible talent and commitment our students have to their Art studies. We really enjoy being able to showcase some of the talents our students have to offer."

Alison Saunders, Headteacher at Simon Balle All-through school said "I am extremely proud of the student’s artwork and was pleased that so many people in the local community would be able to admire it as they walked through the town’s subways."

This is just the first stage for this year's new art for Hertford and we are launching the community art competition for a second subway art gallery located between St Andrew Street and Aldi. The theme for the competition is places to see and visit by foot, bike and scooter and we are looking forward to seeing lots of interesting entries.

Entrants can send a high-resolution image of their work to subwayart@hertfordshire.gov.uk. The closing date for the competition is 31sy July 2022 and the winners will be invited to an opening in August 2022.