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What Temenos will look like.

Temenos

The Tees Valley Giants initiative has been described as the biggest art project in the world, and it's happening in our area. Now plans have been unveiled for Temenos, the first of five huge sculptures that will be built in Teesside and Co Durham.

It's been described as looking like a Femidom, a pair of tights, and even a tennis net.

It's fair to say local people have been fairly flummoxed as to what ..exactly..Temenos..is?

View through Temenos

It's one of five enormous pieces of public art costing £15 million that are to be built in Teesside and County Durham - they'll be called Tees Valley Giants.

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The first one, Temenos, will be built on the North East corner of Middlehaven Dock.

Temenos is a sculpture by international artist Anish Kapur. The name comes from the Greek and means "a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land dedicated to a god". So there you go.

Joe Doherty is Chief Executive of Tees Valley Regeneration. He says “The first of the Tees Valley Giants revealed today is Temenos - which will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Transporter Bridge as a landmark for future generations.”

The multi-million pound cost, while the country stalls in the midst of a credit crunch, has caused more than a few raised eyebrows.

Rosamund Jordan is an art dealer from Eaglescliffe. She told John Foster on BBC Tees that she's not against public art but is opposed to BAD public art ie if it takes no skill to create it or if you need someone to explain it.

She does think Temenos will be aesthetically pleasing BUT it doesn't tick many of her boxes when it comes to art.

However it's creators say it's a symbol of a better future for the town.

The artist who came up with the idea is Anish Kapur. He says that while some people may feel the money could be better spent on hospital beds, artwork also has an important role to play when it comes to healing both people and society. "Art has other ways of infiltrating our consciousness and bringing things socially that are just as important as hospital beds".

As part of the Tees Valley Giants initiative, sculptures will also be installed at Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland, adding up to the biggest public art project anywhere in the world.

Temenos should be finished in Summer 2009.

See pictures of Temenos and other street art from our area by clicking the links on the top right of the page.

Your comments

Gary

What a total waste of money. This in an area that needs proper employment and regeneration.2.7 million white elephant

Ross

Brilliant. No waste of money at all as it could boost the tourist industry in Teesside creating new jobs. Maybe a 5 star hotel may open in the area (not including the tall trees)It will be brilliant and will bring vital money into the area

Derek

A complete waste of money - just like the rise in allowances currently being mooted for stockton councillors

Kev.

Was this keep net sculpture designed by a salmomn angler?

Ann from Billingham

I think Temenos is a load of rubbish and a waste of tay payers money it could have spent on our hospitals and wards not a dust bucket like the Angel of the North in Gateshead that is a load of rubbish as well

Ross

I think it's amazing. Just what we need round this area to be a catalyst for further regeneration. It will put Middlesbrough on the map!

Elaine

I think it is beautiful

Neil in Middlesbrough

Exciting. I think it'll be great for the area.

last updated: 25/11/2008 at 14:40
created: 10/07/2008

Have Your Say

What do you think? A major artwork or major waste of cash?

John
Where does the money come from?

Robin (in Billingham)
We have many iconic images in Middlesbrough and this will bring a new focus on our area. Showing the country we are not the worst place in Britain to live, but that there are many reasons why businesses and tourists should take a second look at Middlesbrough and the surrounding areas.Bring more of this type of development to the area, and watch how area our improves in the opinion of the country and may be the rest of theworld.Be proud of where you come from - and show it !

Ste
Though i do think that it is a good idea the money could be much better spent

Order Cialis
Amazing site.Thanks, webmaster.

Ken Wallace
I can understand some people's initial shock of such a huge amount of money being sepent on something like a sculpture instead of investing within jobs etc but without rejeneration and putting an area of the UK on the tourist map, the money wouldn't be too well spent. Everyone moaned about the Angel Of The North, look at it 10 years on, it's now the most recognisable landmark in the whole UK, being used by International companies for their own advertising/marketing purposes, it's about time Middlesbrough and the surrounding areas are known for something of a positive nature other than the crime levels and poor living that are always portrayed on National TV. I think the money spent can only be the start of amazing hope & inspiration in area for years to come, just you wait until your children leave school to find a job - they'll be laughing all their way into a great job and living in a great new regenerated area of the UK.

chris - Ex-Boro now in leeds
Spend the money on something more useful and send any spare to fund a proper Art school in the arttistically deprived area where the artist of this monstrosity is from. The Transporter is already a work of art, celebrate it, augment it but don't mask it!

Mark
Not sure about the choice of sculpture, unsure of it's relevence. However I agree with the notion of installing things like this in our area. Look at Newcastle's quayside, developed from a smelly mess to a thriving, and successful tourist area!! Let's catch the geordies up if not outdo them!

Andy D
What a total waste of money. We live in area that has high unemployment, where pensioners struggle to pay heating bills, where schools struggle due to lack of equipment, people with terminal illness's cannot get the drugs they need due to cost, families struggling to make ends meet due to rocketing fuel/heating costs, the wish list is endless. Then you get some loony councilors agreeing to waste a huge chunk of cash on a totally pointless piece of art!! If the council took 500 names at random from the electoral roll and balloted these people on if they want to spend £m's on a piece of dodgy art I think we all know what the answer would be!

Mark
What on earth has thsi got to do with Middlesbrough or the river Tees. What about calling on over 100 years of iron/steel/ship building/enginnering/chemical industy expertise and refelcting this. This is awful. At least the angel of the north is good to look at?How about speding the money moving all the horribel old industrial mess around the trasnporter to a new site and revitalising the whole area. ow can we have new building next to the mess that exsists on vulcan street?Where was our say, couldn't Look North have ran a vote for the people to pick a sculpture?Shocking waste of money!

Jonathan Barnett
Blooming awful. If the local council wanted to spend vast amounts on a new landmark why didn't they get Mackenzie Thorpe to design it. Local artist, ignored by MIMA the white elephant yet hugely successful.

Graham
Although it may not be everyone's cup of tea it's not a waste of money as the money comes from a fund set up for art projects. So if we didn't get it some other art project would.This can highlight the area and dipel the myth that it's a run down town and could potentially create greater investment and infastructure in the area

Danielle
i am only a 13 year old girl but i care about the enviroment and where i live... This sculpture looks like a complete waste of time effort and money! Why does middlesbrough need another sculpture that noone is going to pay any attention to? Why should people have to spend there money on taxes just so they can have a sculptue of a "net" overcrossing a river? The Council says the money people pay is going towards hospitals. But that isn't true!!! Middlesbrough isn't exactly known for its beauty but a sculptue isn't going to make a difference. We shoud be useing the money for cleaning up the streets and parks to make middlesbrough look tidyer

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Places Features

Temenos

See pictures of Temenos and other street art from our area by clicking the links on the top right of the page.

Your comments

Gary

Ross

Derek

Kev.

Ann from Billingham

Ross

Elaine

Neil in Middlesbrough

Have Your Say

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