Masterclasses in Sitting was a three-part public art commission curated and managed by Futurecity for Wye Dene, a new residential development in High Wycombe. Led by Andreas Lang of the art and architecture practice public works, the project used the act of sitting as a way to explore place, memory and identity, drawing on High Wycombe’s long history as a centre for furniture making.

Developed over a year, the programme combined research, discussion and making to connect residents, students and makers with the evolving site at Wycombe Marsh. The first phase, Take a Seat with Us, involved furniture design students from Buckinghamshire New University working with local residents to design and build ten temporary seats inspired by personal places and stories around the area. These were shared with the public through guided walks.

The second phase, Chairs for Arching, took the form of public talks exploring High Wycombe’s chair-making heritage, including the global influence of the Chair Arches, the Windsor Chair tradition and the town’s history of bodging, linking past practices to contemporary design.

The project culminated in The Last Chair Arch, a temporary sculptural installation assembled collectively by residents, students and makers. Public works designed a bespoke ‘Chair for Arching’, CNC-cut and assembled using traditional timber joints without secondary structural elements. Over a week-long public build, 170 chairs were assembled into a free-standing arch at Wye Dene.

The arch stood briefly before being dismantled, with the chairs given to participants to keep, allowing the project to live on within the community. Together, Masterclasses in Sitting demonstrates how participatory public art can embed cultural meaning, social connection and local heritage into new development through shared authorship and making.

Photography by Theirry Bal