2010 Symposium

The 2010 two week international sculpture symposium was based at the historic British Waterways Maintenance Yard on the canal at Ellesmere.

The original canal workshops from the days of Thomas Telford were used in the creation of wood and metal sculptures which reflected the heritage of the Ellesmere canal building era.

Some of the participating artists were blacksmiths and they breathed life back into the workshops and forge to produce original metal sculptures. Others used wood reclaimed from old lock gates or locally felled trees to create their pieces.

Nine international artists participated in this symposium, including one student scholarship award. “The student Scholarship is a terrific opportunity for an artist at the early stage of their career” said Ben Carpenter, from Wolverhampton University “they learn from highly established artists from all over the world.”

Their sculptures were installed alongside the Llangollen Canal to link with six pieces created for the Castlefields site during the 2009 symposium as part of the Ellesmere Sculpture in the Landscape Trail. The trail leads visitors through the distinctive glacial landscape of the Mere with its rolling meadowland, along the tree-lined towpath of the canal to the canal wharf near the centre of the town.

Gallery 2010