The 'Gold Belt' is a

public sculpture Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...

located in a walkway underneath the Vicarage Road bridge,

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

, England. The walkway links

Riversley Park Riversley Park is an urban park in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, which covers an area of and is located immediately to the south of the town centre, with the River Anker flowing through it. History The park was opened on 6 July 1907 on land d ...

and the George Eliot Memorial Gardens. The 'Gold Belt' was produced as a result of a project between local artist

Alisha Miller Alisha (Arabic: علیشا Romanized: 'Alīshā) is cognate of the female given name Alicia, a variant of Alice, which comes from the Old English name Æthelhādas or Æðelhādas, meaning "noble natured" (noble of kind). Variant forms used by no ...

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

and

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

in 2003. The 'Gold Belt' represents a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

leather belt A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather, plastic, or heavy cloth, worn around the natural waist or near it (as far down as the hips). The ends of a belt are free; and a buckle forms the belt into a loop by securing one ...

. This reinforces a local connection through Nuneaton's mining heritage and also links to the

Union Wool and Leather Factory Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

that used to be located on the site of a supermarket close to Riversley Park. The work was inspired by the motto, "a good reputation is better than a belt of gold", of

Edward Melly Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

who donated the park to the people of Nuneaton in 1907.

The Project

With financial support from the

Countryside Agency The Countryside Agency was a statutory body set up in England in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The agency was dissolved in 2006 and its functions dispersed among other bod ...

and the Local Authorities, a project developed allowing for research into the local area, community workshops and reminiscence activities. The research included identifying a spot suitable and meaningful for the sculpture. The bridge was identified as a space that could be transformed through having public artwork. The workshops involved local children and students and were held at

Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery is set in the grounds of Riversley Park, Nuneaton, England, and has three galleries which house regularly changing temporary and touring exhibitions. There is a gallery dedicated to the writer George Eliot, togethe ...

. Historical talks were given and the participants worked with Miller to produce artwork of local scenes. Some of these local scenes are featured on the belt, along with drawings produced by Miller of other local public artwork and features. A reminiscence session was held at Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery, sharing photographs and memories with the older community members. These memories were collected and featured alongside the images on the belt. The work was unveiled by the mayor of Nuneaton, Ian Lloyd, on 11 October 2003.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Alisha Miller's page on the work
*
Bridging Time
' (explanatory pamphlet)
Wikimapia page with images
Outdoor sculptures in England Nuneaton 2003 sculptures Individual signs 2003 establishments in England