Four works of public art once kept at Black Country Living Museum get a new home in Dudley
Works of public art previously kept at the Black Country Living Museum are on their way to a new home.
The quartet of silhouette sculptures were fabricated as part of a £10 million project in 2013 using cash from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for improvements to the Castle Hill area of Dudley.
The sculptures, which cost £6,900, were designed by the borough artist Steve Field to represent different aspects of Black Country industry.
They were sited at the then rear entrance of the museum but removed in 2020 for upgrade work at what became the main way into the site.
Dudley Council took the opportunity to refurbish the sculptures after the museum agreed to re-site them when the upgrade work had been completed.
In 2024, the museum told the council it was not in a position to fund new foundations along a cycle path and did not want the sculptures back.
The now homeless statutes were stored at the council’s Lister Road depot while the search began for a new location.
A solution sailed into view when Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust offered to take the works of art as part of a new educational sculpture trail.
The scheme has been approved by Dudley's director of communities and growth, Nick McGurk, after consultation with Councillor Simon Phipps, Dudley cabinet member for economy and infrastructure.
In notes on the decision, Steve Field said: “The presence of the silhouettes as an educational trail for children and young people would be of positive benefit in educating them about the area’s heritage in relation to the four themes depicted coal and mining for coal and other resources, ironwork including chain making (and the role of female chain makers), steam power including the Newcomen Engine, and canals generally.”
The move will not cost council taxpayers any cash; however, if the statues were not restored to public display, the EDRF grant of £10m for the Castle Hill project was at risk of being reclaimed by the European Commission.
