A UK-wide programme designed to celebrate creativity and aimed to reach millions and bring people together is arriving in 2022, with one pop-up installation heading to a coastal spot less than an hour away from Bristol. Known as UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, the programme features free large-scale events, installations and globally accessible digital experiences produced by some of the brightest minds in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.
UNBOXED, originally created to celebrate the UK’s departure from the EU, will feature ten major multi-site and digital creative projects that share new ideas and possibilities for the future. Events and activities are set to take place from 1 March to 2 October 2022 – from the Outer Hebrides to Dover and from Omagh to Swansea, and across traditional and online media.
One project popping-up in the coastal town of Weston-Super-Mare this summer is a decommissioned North Sea offshore platform called SEE MONSTER and has been transformed into a public art installation which celebrates British weather. SEE MONSTER’s location in the town’s former 1930s lido, the Tropicana, references the heyday of British coastal resorts while creating new opportunities and possibilities for both the site and the platform.
It will harness the power of the elements to provide renewable energy for the reimagined structure. With planted gardens, places to meet and learning programmes, SEE MONSTER invites audiences to consider new ideas for creatively repurposing retired structures for future use.
Patrick O’Mahony, Artistic Director of SEE MONSTER and Founder of NEWSUBSTANCE, said: “The arrival of SEE MONSTER in Weston-super-Mare is a springboard to explore the concept of inherited structures – physical, social and environmental – and to question what we do with them, how they can enhance our lives and what actions they inspire, both individually and universally.”
SEE MONSTER is brought to life by NEWSUBSTANCE Collective, led by Leeds-based creative studio NEWSUBSTANCE in collaboration with Dose of Society, REDHOUSE, Rocket Women, Empowering Women with Tech, kinetic sculptor Ivan Black and representatives from The British Antarctic Survey, and is supported by North Somerset Council.
Another project as part of UNBOXED heading closer to home in Bristol is Story Trails, a unique immersive experience that will change the way we tell stories about ourselves. To discover the full UNBOXED programme, head to the website here.