7 contemporary artworks by leading artists across the UK have been chosen to be part of Kingston's new sculpture trail.

The winning artworks were revealed today (29 June) for the trail which has been organised by Kingston First , Canbury Community Trust, Kingston Council and Kingston University.

Launching in mid-August 2021, the trail will run from Canbury Gardens to north of Kingston town centre and be in place for 6 months.

During this time residents will be invited to vote for their favourite sculpture, which will then become a permanent installation in Kingston.

The winning artist will also get £10,000 prize money.

The 7 sculptures for the trail were chosen from 40 submissions to an open call for entries earlier this year.

The winning artworks were selected by a panel of judges which included 2 Kingston students and panel Chair David Mach RA - best known in Kingston as the creator of Kingston's toppling red phone box sculpture 'Out of Order' .

David said: "It's great to see Kingston still pursuing Public Art for its streets.

"A fantastic opportunity for the artists involved and very enjoyable to meet with the other judges to pick out our favourites."

Other members of Kingston's artistic community reacted positively to the news.

Mandy Ure, Dean at Kingston School of Art said: "I'm delighted that Kingston School of Art and Kingston University have been able to support this exciting project for the borough, and know that these commissions will be great additions to the town centre.

"The chosen sculptures will engage visitors through their story-telling, creativity and playfulness to encourage participation in their environment and offer a moment for reflection."

Paul Stafford MRSS, Hon Fellow Kingston University said: "As an artist, educator and resident of Kingston for over 30 years, I am very proud of our town and how it has grown in confidence and developed, whilst supporting culture and the arts.

"I hope that our Kingston Sculpture Trail will add to the experience of both residents and visitors and enhance their enjoyment of the riverside and town centre.

"We are fortunate in that we have attracted interest from extremely high quality, world class artists, who want to be a part of our continuing story. I hope everyone enjoys these new artworks as much as we have enjoyed selecting them."

Here is the full list of the winning sculptures, along with information about the artists who created them.

'Kingston Spinning Sculpture' by Roger Clarke Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors (MRSS) - A colourful sculpture that invites viewers to interact by spinning it.

Roger Clark (b.1966) lives and works in Bath.

After graduating from the Slade School of Art, he was awarded the Henry Moore Sculpture Fellowship at Winchester School of Art in 1991 and the Rome Scholarship in Sculpture in 1994.

He is Senior Lecturer in Creative Arts Practice at Bath School of Art, Bath Spa University.

His work has been exhibited throughout the UK, Europe and beyond.

'AANGEL' by David Begbie MRSS - An androgynous angel figure, acting as a 'guardian' or benevolent presence looking over Kingston

David says: "Throughout my career I have worked predominantly on images of the human form often with an emphasis on classical subjects and partial or truncated figures.

"Public or corporate commissions have offered the opportunity to expand on my ideas and designs such as 'ORIGINS' for the Natural History Museum and 'GRANDSLAM' for the AELTC, centre court building Wimbledon, 'TRANSPOSE', Buddha-Bar London, and 'AANGEL' for the Jam House, Edinburgh.

"The essential character of 'AANGEL' 2021 is androgynous in keeping with and very much in the spirit of the traditional notion of an angel conceived as an asexual entity.

"Recently I have revisited 'Angels' as a subject during the current COVID-19 pandemic and my proposal for the Kingston Sculpture Trail presented the opportunity to create 'AANGEL'2021 which on one level would act as a 'guardian' or benevolent presence for the town of

Kingston.

"In the event that the sculpture is chosen to be permanently sited in Kingston it would undoubtedly serve as a pertinent reminder of the current crisis for posterity."

'Time and Tide' by Marigold Hodgkinson Fellow of the Royal Society of Sctusors(FRSS) - A curved, mirrored sculpture which shifts gently in the wind reflecting light and it's continuously changing surroundings

Marigold says: "My own practice involves several activities with different outcomes, mainly consisting of exterior Sculpture & 'Site-specific' Sculpture-installations.

"I have realized large site-specific sculptures in Holland & Sweden , and in Wales and on the UK South Coast. Also many sculptures shown in different exterior

sculpture-sites & trails across the UK.

"I have participated in 'Artist Residencies' in Poland, EastBerlin, Florence & India, which have entailed the creation of and of showing work relevant to

'Place-Site-Location-country'.

"On the employment level, I have set-up artist/student exchanges to Eastern Europe-particularly Poland, with British Council Support- funding. I have also operated as a part-time tutor/lecturer at several art-schools."

'The Kiss' by Alex R T Davies MRSS - Part of a series of sculptures titled 'Unwanted Monuments', two bronze street cones 'kiss' inspired by Rodin and Constantin Brancusi's piece of the same name, conveying the delicate intimacy of the subject with ordinary objects with no gender.

'Party Animal' by Alex R T Davies MRSS From Davies' same series 'Unwanted Monuments', a bronze goat sculpture stands proudly with a street cone on its back, inviting the viewer to touch and even sit on the piece.

Alex said: "As a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors I have been making sculpture and other objects, mostly in metal, for the last 30 years.

"During this time I have exhibited my sculptures

in a number of exhibitions, Art Fairs and Sculpture gardens."

"I'm constantly involved in public artwork projects as part of my business, Milwyn Casting Ltd, a fine art foundry, mostly working with other Sculptors.

"After leaving Art College in the early 90s I set up an artist blacksmith business (Red Forge) making and designing commissioned sculpture, furniture and architectural Iron work.

"By 2000 I had moved into bronze casting, running fine art foundries, the most recent of which, Milwyn Casting Ltd, is based close to Kingston, in West Molesey, Surrey.

"Alongside the Royal Society of Sculptors, I provide the annual Bronze casting prize for the Royal Academy Schools.

"The most recent project I have devised as an artist and am producing at my foundry, is the 10 Gram Challenge.

"This is a response to the first lockdown involving 250 sculptors (From the Royal Society of Sculptors) and as many miniature castings, this will be exhibited in June at Dora House (home of the RSS).

Mountain' by Stefan JovanovicÌ & Jack Hardy - A large interactive steel sculpture designed as a ymbolic fireplace for gathering, an offering and an invitation to te folks of Kingston to touch and listen to, in sun, wind and rain.

Stefan Jovanovi is a queer and neurodivergent architect and performance-maker, creating neo-mythical worlds and speculative fabulations in site-specific environments.

He has previously shown work at Sadler's Wells Theatre, Dance4, Asylum Chapel, Stone Nest and

Siobhan Davies Dance, and has taught at the Architectural Association, Royal College of Art, Independent Dance, and London Contemporary Dance School.

Jack Hardy (b.1991, Lewes, UK) lives and works in London, an optimist with a love of carnival and play.

Working between spatial design and sculpture, Jack's work includes large and small scale toys and installations for events. Jack is an associate lecturer in Architecture at Oxford Brookes and a teaching fellow at UCL.

'The Juggernaut of Nought' by Richard Trupp MRSS - A large, industrial wedge-shaped sculpture celebrating the industrial heritage of the Thames riverbank and creating a moment of pause in its surroundings.

Richard Trupp has worked with steel all his life. He transforms the miniature and mundane into the monumental and significant.

"Richard is ambitious," noted the late Sir Anthony Caro of his protege, whose art is grounded in a deep respect for his sculptural forebears.

Successful installations are sited Internationally and across the UK and in 2019 Richard represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale.

Richard has been working in Kingston for over 20 years since first being a Stanley Picker Fellow in 2000.

Currently Richard is Head of Workshops at Kingston School of Art, recently completing a 30 million pound renovation on the Mill Street Building from start to finish.