Stoke-on-Trent Tourismt. 01782 232817 e. tourism@stoke.gov.uk www.visitstoke.co.uk

City celebrates its history and heritageon new Sculpture Trail

Most famous for its eye-catching ceramics, Stoke-on-Trent is now hoping to turn a few of its visitors’ heads with a brand new Sculpture Trail.

Featuring everything from a ‘Potteries Pyramid’ and ‘Another Gift’, to a ‘Staffordshire Saxon’ and ‘Zoomorphic Mount’, the trail draws together 40 individual sculptures into one, city-wide collection of art.

The final piece in the surprising jigsaw is a work entitled “Golden: the flame that never dies” made by sculptor Wolfgang Buttress, who was recently named the winner of the Finalists’ Concepts category on the Milan Expo 2015 Design Competition for his work “BE”.

Due to be launched in the autumn, a few months after the official launch of the Sculpture Trail itself, Golden refers to the golden flame that sprang from the original Goldendale ironworks, which previously lit the Chatterley Valley in Stoke-on-Trent.

But that is going to be just one of 40 striking pieces now featured in both a pocket-sized leaflet, as well as online - at www.stokesculpturetrail.co.uk.

The Stoke-on-Trent Sculpture Trail has been designed to inspire, and includes statues of some of the great locals who have left their mark on the city - including Sir Stanley Matthews, Josiah Wedgwood, and the designer of the Spitfire Reginald Mitchell - as well as monuments and memorials linked to the history and heritage of The Potteries, and conceptual and true works of art.

Amongst those falling into the final category is the statue of Perseus and Medusa which, in 2012, took-on a leading role in the Royal Academy of the Arts’ exhibition, “Bronze”. Transported all the way from the award-winning Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent to Central London, Perseus made a hero’s return for the start of 2013, and now lines-up in the new Sculpture Trail alongside works previously seen at the National Garden Festival in 1986 and more recent additions to the pieces of public art which have been appearing throughout the city during the last decade.

Amongst them is the latest sculpture unveiled in the City Centre, ‘Unearthed (Lidice)’ by Nicola Winstanley and Sarah Nadin. This sculpture is dedicated to unearthing the story of Stoke-on-Trent’s relationship with the Czech village of Lidice which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1942. The massacre of hundreds of men, women and children promoted Stoke-on-Trent city councilor Barnett Stross to raise funds, along with local miners, for the rebuilding of the village. Miners’ tags cover the artwork - each one stamped with a code identifying a member of the public who has promised to share the story of Lidice with two other people.

Copies of the leaflet can be picked-up from the Tourist Information Centre in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, as well as from other information racks, hotels, and attractions throughout Stoke-on-Trent & The Potteries. The website www.stokesculpturetrail.co.uk features full details of all of the sculptures included in the new trail.

EndsFor further information, and images, please contact:Sam Hall Tel: 01782-232817 E-mail: tourism@stoke.gov.uk