Tees Valley Giants
Encyclopedia
The Tees Valley Giants will be a £15 million series of five art installations by sculptor Anish Kapoor
and structural designer Cecil Balmond
. The artwork is set to be created in the towns of Darlington
, Hartlepool
, Middlesbrough
, Redcar and Cleveland
and Stockton on Tees in the Tees Valley
area of England. Once completed, the project will become the world's biggest public art project. The project was launched by Tees Valley Regeneration
.
, close to where the Transporter bridge
is located; construction work started in autumn 2008, was completed by spring 2010, and officially presented to the people of Middlesbrough on June 10, 2010. The name 'Temenos
' comes from the Ancient Greek term for land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct. Temenos was funded by the Government Initiative, The Northern Way
, the regional development agency One NorthEast
, the Arts Council England
, the Northern Rock Foundation, Middlesbrough Football Club and BioRegional Quintain.
Anish Kapoor
Anish Kapoor CBE RA is a British sculptor of Indian birth. Born in Mumbai , Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea School of Art and Design.He represented Britain in the XLIV Venice...
and structural designer Cecil Balmond
Cecil Balmond
Cecil Balmond is a Sri Lankan/British designer, engineer, artist, architect, and writer. He has been hailed as "one of the most important forces in contemporary architecture today," and in 2003 received the prestigious RIBA Charles Jencks award for Theory in Practice. He is also the recipient of...
. The artwork is set to be created in the towns of Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
and Stockton on Tees in the Tees Valley
Tees Valley
The Tees Valley is an area in the North East of England. It can be described as "greater Teesside" and consists of the four unitary authorities created by the breakup of the County of Cleveland in 1996: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees along with the borough of...
area of England. Once completed, the project will become the world's biggest public art project. The project was launched by Tees Valley Regeneration
Tees Valley Regeneration
Tees Valley Regeneration was an urban regeneration company covering the Tees Valley area of North East England and at one time was the largest urban development agency in England...
.
The structures
Five structures are set to be created. However only one, Temenos, has been unveiled.Temenos
Temenos was the first sculpture for the Tees Valley Giants project to be announced. It is approximately 110 m long and 50 m high and cost £2.7 million. The steel structure consists of a pole, a circular ring and an oval ring, all held together by steel wire. The structure is situated in the Middlehaven area of MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, close to where the Transporter bridge
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or Tees Transporter Bridge is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees, England. It connects Middlesbrough, on the south bank, to Port Clarence, on the north bank. It is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car', or 'gondola', suspended from...
is located; construction work started in autumn 2008, was completed by spring 2010, and officially presented to the people of Middlesbrough on June 10, 2010. The name 'Temenos
Temenos
Temenos is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct: The Pythian race-course is called a temenos, the sacred valley of the Nile is the ...
' comes from the Ancient Greek term for land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, a sanctuary, holy grove or holy precinct. Temenos was funded by the Government Initiative, The Northern Way
The Northern Way
The Northern Way is a 20 year British governmental strategy to transform the economy of the North of England. It aims to bridge a £30 billion output gap between the North and the average for England....
, the regional development agency One NorthEast
One NorthEast
One North East is the regional development agency for the North East England region.-History:It was established in April 1999. The North East receives a lot of government aid for regeneration....
, the Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, the Northern Rock Foundation, Middlesbrough Football Club and BioRegional Quintain.