Chatham Vines

John Newling

Commissioned by Medway Renaissance

A row of vines planted in a disused church in the centre of Chatham has been shortlisted for one of the country's most prestigious art prizes.

Chatham Vines' by John Newling has been shortlisted by the judges of the Rouse Kent Public Art Award as one of the best pieces of public art created in the county in the last year.

The Rouse Kent Public Art Award is given annually by Liberty Property Trust UK, the developer of the Kings Hill business park, (formerly Rouse Kent Ltd); Kent County Council and Arts Council England, South East and is for artwork to which the public has access and which leaves a lasting legacy.

The prize money for the main award totals £15,000 and will be divided between the commissioner of the winning work and the artist.  The winning commissioner will also keep the Rouse Chair for a year.

The winner will be announced at a VIP dinner at the Kings Hill Golf Club in May.

'Chatham Vines' was commissioned by Medway Renaissance, Medway Council, to bring together contemporary art and regeneration. Thirty two Pinot Noir vines were planted in the central aisle of St John's Church in Railway Street, positioned either side of a 15 metre steel construction.

They were planted in September 2004 and grown for one year, using hydroponics technology. At night the church was lit from within and two cameras were installed which continually streamed images of the project via the Internet to a dedicated website www.chathamvines.com.

Time lapse imaging brought a condensed focus to the planting and growth of the vines, harvesting and deinstalling. Over 70,000 hits were recorded through the duration of the project, with interest from as far afield as Japan and America.

Before the vines were removed, the grapes were harvested and made into wine. The Chatham Vines wine is being used this month (April) in the Eucharist Service at Rochester Cathedral and the rest will be available in September.

Internationally acclaimed art critic Richard Cork chaired the award's judging panel and other members of the judging panel were Professor Elaine Thomas, Rector University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester; Kent design champion Piers Gough; Janet Hodgson, artist and a prize winner of the award in 2005; Stephanie Fuller, South East Visual Arts Officer (Public Art & Architecture), Arts Council England, South East; Jo Richards, Marketing & Corporate Manager, Hillreed Homes and Vivien Taylor, Associate Director, architect, Liberty Property Trust UK.

The shortlisted entries also include 'Lamb' in Canterbury; 'Four Shores' in Sheppey and 'Somewhere We Meet' in Hextable.