Education > Discover Oxford's Public Art
Discover Art in Oxford
If you are interested in public art you may want to pick up the City Council’s guide to Oxford’s outdoor public art.
The map promotes new and innovative art works and is a celebration of some of the hidden gems in the city.
The outdoor art gallery highlights the many individual, quirky pieces of art dotted in and around the city for everyone to enjoy.
The leaflet has been produced by Oxford’s Strategic Partnership in conjunction with Oxford City Council and the Oxford Preservation Trust.
Councillor Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council, says: “People won’t realise how much art there is in the city and all of this art is outside. Many people will have walked past and not even noticed it. This map highlights all the wonderful art that we have in the city and provides information about how and when it was created.”
Debbie Dance, Director of Oxford Preservation Trust, says: “Seeing all these works of art, in so many guises, brought together in one leaflet is fantastic - not only does it highlight just how much Oxford has to offer, but it helps people to know where to go to see them and to understand a little more of what they are about. As the organisers of Oxford Open Doors we know just how much local people value the chance to see more of the City”
The map includes:
- the books that Diana Bell created for the revamped Bonn Square in 2009. The books are cast in bronze from real books and were a gift to Oxford from Bonn to commemorate 60 years of twinning.
- the Ox by Olivia Musgrave at Oxford Train Station, which is over three metres high, and was commissioned by the Said Business School in 2001 to celebrate the opening of their building.
- the Story Book Tree which was created by Matt Cave in 2005 at Bury Knowle Park. The trunk of the dead cedar tree was carved into a totem pole sculpture featuring characters from the books of Headington authors JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.
- the Glow Tree in Blackbird Leys created by Neil Wood in 2007 in partnership with the Fusion Arts and local community. The five metre high stainless steel sculpture outside Blackbird Leys Community Centre features poetry inspired by a popular community learning project and involved community groups in both its design and construction.
To get a copy of the map visit www.oxford.gov.uk or contact the Tourist Information Centre on 01865 252200 or download map and descriptions here:
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2 Mb PDF Leaflet and Map (requires the free Adobe PDF plugin to view) |
The Oxford Strategic Partnership brings together key organisations from the public, private, community and voluntary sectors to develop a shared vision for the city and work together on initiatives for the benefit of the city and its residents.