REGARDING Sophie Ryder's sculpture commission in Market Square, Lancaster. As much as I like the artist's work, isn't it about time local sculptors where given an opportunity to put work on temporary display in Lancaster City centre?
My offer to Lancaster City council is that I'd create sculpture for nothing as long as it paid for the materials and casting - but I doubt it would ever consider such an offer.
I suspect its real interest isn't so much art or encouraging local talent but rather in attracting generous funding from the arts council, which might then be redirected towards paying for other local amenities. It's just another way of getting Government money.
This funding is usually only available when commission opportunities are extended nationally. This seems to be the general criteria these days.
Local artists who don't even have suitable places to work, few opportunities to work and exhibit and little money, have to compete for commissions against artists from more elite backgrounds.
It seems the nearest thing I'll ever get to working in bronze in Lancaster is making sculptures in papier-mache and then spraying them bronze.
Superimposed on a photo of Market Square they would look great... I might as well dream of hare-headed humans riding bare back!
Surely after 30 years as a professional local artist, and there are others just like me, you would expect at least some interest expressed by a council that doesn't involve funding criteria and discrimination against local artists.
Chris Amriding, Lancaster.
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