Ten public works of art are being commissioned and installed in London as part of a £3m investment in cultural projects by the mayor’s office. Boris Johnson, the mayor, has pledged a total of £9m to the High Street Fund—the latest in a series of initiatives launched with the aim of regenerating parts of the city after the riots that took place across London in 2011. The fund announced the recipients of the money in March, with 42 local town centres benefiting from the award.
A further £20m of matched funding will come from local authorities and private-sector partners; £3.42m of this has been earmarked for the arts.
The projects include a new cultural quarter, which is planned for Roehampton, south-west London, where five of the art commissions will be installed. The area was awarded £20,000, although a spokesman for the mayor’s office says that local councils may provide additional funding. Another five public works are due to be commissioned across London, but the locations and artists have not yet been confirmed.
In a statement, the mayor said: “London’s high streets are no longer about retail alone, and I am thrilled to be supporting projects that seek to diversify and unlock opportunities in our most prized urban assets.”