YOU&ME have been commissioned by South Somerset District Council as artists to produce a series of public realm community artwork pieces which will form part of the wider Yeovil Refresh public realm project.

YOU&ME are collaborating with poet Beth Calverley on the project, inviting local groups to share thoughts, feelings and memories of Yeovil, as well as hopes and aspirations for its future, in a series of poetry co-creation sessions. Their conversations are transformed into typewritten poetry which will be incorporated in the artworks. The community engagement aspect on the project has been extensive, with YOU&ME also running a series of targeted collage / making workshops with Yeovil College Performing Arts students and local helicopter manufacturing company, Leonardo, aerospace trainees. The outcomes of the sessions were showcased in an interactive exhibition in local art gallery, Yeovil Art Space during July 2021.

The Yeovil Refresh scheme will see the public spaces in the town centre transformed and work is currently underway. The wide-reaching project includes a giant outdoor TV screen, a bus gate, a water feature, an 'amphitheatre', wider pavements, pedestrianisation of the Borough area and more. The artwork pieces will add a new colourful, impactful and welcoming layer to the new public realm and contribute towards creating a sense of place and a visual identity for Yeovil, inspired by its local community. They are focused around the new Triangle area, the civic heart of the town.

(Image selection includes images courtesy of LHC design,  Richard Tomlinson and Yeovil Art Space.)

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