I walk the line

Michael Craig-Martin helped unveil the mural of Matisse-inspired collages made by London schoolchildren

British artist Michael Craig-Martin and Tate director Nicholas Serota were on hand Thursday for the unveiling of the UK capital’s latest mural, which incorporates Matisse-inspired collages made by London schoolchildren. The tile mural, which decorates a pedestrian subway leading to the new campus of the Bow School in East London, is part of a larger initiative to bring public art to the area. The project, entitled A Curious Line, is a collaboration between the borough, the local charity Bow Arts, the design studio make:good and Bank of America Merrill Lynch—the global sponsor of the exhibition “Matisse: the       Cut-Outs”, which closes at Tate Modern on 7 September and is due to open in October at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Students visited the show and attended workshops at the Tate to learn more about Modern art and Matisse’s practice in the months leading up to the unveiling. The mural has been designed by Amanda Wayne from make:good. “Tate believes art is essential to the vitality of a community,” says Serota. “We are delighted to have been a part of this public art project in Bow and to have introduced Matisse to a new group of young people. We are pleased that the underpass inspired by Matisse will be a part of the Bow local community now and in the future.”Public art veteran Craig-Martin sees the project as “a great example of how all the partners have come together to regenerate the local area, through a public art project.”

From In The Frame
Published online: 26 June 2014