London-based multidisciplinary artist Yinka Ilori has been appointed as Artist in Residence in Kings Hill, by Turner Contemporary, the curator of the Kings Hill Public Art Residency in Kent.

Futurecity worked with Liberty Property Trust and Kent County Council (KCC) to form this unique artist offer that will be instrumental in building up the local cultural infrastructure in Kings Hill. Turner Contemporary will draw on its experience of leading major commissions and working with the community. The project will also benefit from collaboration with students and staff from University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Kings Hill residents and Futurecity.

This cultural partnership – shaped by Futurecity – brings together the developer, local council, local arts community and local residents in collaboration to deliver a legacy of public art that is deeply rooted to a local place.

The unique approach of bringing partners with a range of skillsets together, alongside a process designed to ensure that the work is site-specific, aims to enable as many people as possible to benefit from collaborative public art.

Mark Davy, CEO of Futurecity said, ‘Futurecity sees major artists drawn to meaningful engagement with people and place as a key factor in deciding what public art commissions they want to realise. The partnership approach offers more to the artist, as well as the people of Kings Hill.’

Over the course of this year, Ilori will work with the curator of the Kings Hill Public Art Residency Turner Contemporary’s programming team, students from UCA and the Kings Hill community to create a public artwork for the garden village’s new park. The appointment will be Ilori’s first as an ‘artist in residence’; having visited and researched the site, his initial ideas will be further informed by spending time on the site and with Kings Hill residents over the next few months.

On the appointment, Yinka Ilori said: “Visiting the site in Kings Hill was a breath of fresh air; standing on top of the Amphitheatre and looking out at the whole of Kent was magical. I was drawn to this project and the site in Kings Hill because it’s full of history. I want to explore how we remember and celebrate that history and bring a new story that’s relevant to now and the people that live and work there! This is my first experience as an artist in residence, and it’s super exciting to be able to connect with new people and new ideas. I am looking forward to learning new things, understanding new cultures and ways of thinking. With the commission as a focal point, I’m really excited for people from further afield to come to know Kent for the beautiful place that it is.”

Ilori specialises in storytelling by fusing his British and Nigerian heritage to tell new stories in contemporary design. Humorous, provocative and fun, every project that he creates tells a story. Previous public art work created by Illori include the colourful ‘Colour Palace’, Dulwich Pavilion for London Festival of Architecture in 2019.

On Ilori’s appointment, Victoria Pomery, Director of Turner Contemporary said: “Turner Contemporary was inspired by Yinka Ilori’s proposal which showed a sensitivity to the history of the site whilst imagining a new future. He left room for the work to evolve through his interaction with the Kings Hill community and students from UCA.”

This commission comes in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic which has highlighted the extraordinary opportunities provided by open green spaces. Traditionally, parks have been venues for social interactions, community meetings and moments of joy and play.

Kings Hill will see Ilori use its newly completed park to design and realise a public art commission that reimagines open space use for the future.

Futurecity has worked with Kings Hill development partners Liberty Property Trust and Kent County Council to form the unique partnership between Turner Contemporary and UCA in Kings Hill since 2019. As Steering Committee Members for the project, we look forward to watching Ilori’s engagement and artworks unfold as integral to the Kings Hill development’s legacy and the arts-scape of broader Kent.