About
The Line is an ambitious public art project in East London that connects Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The O2, following the waterways and the line of the Greenwich Meridian. Our mission is to connect communities and inspire individuals through a dynamic outdoor exhibition programme where everyone can explore art, nature and heritage for free.
We focus on collaborative engagement projects that support wellbeing and learning, as well as providing opportunities for young people to develop skills and improve employability.
At The Line, we value an open, inclusive and nurturing environment to promote collaboration, creativity and wellbeing. We aim to listen and learn from the people we connect with, including visitors and programme participants.
The Line believes in the transformative impact of art and nature, and we are committed to increasing access to the arts through our programmes and challenging barriers to participation.
The Line is a registered charity (no. 1190073 / company limited by guarantee no. 12392898).
History
The Line was co-founded in 2015 by its Director, Megan Piper, and the late regeneration expert Clive Dutton OBE (1953-2015) whose life’s work was rooted in a commitment to improving the quality of life for people in urban environments. The project was established to democratise access to art by introducing sculptures that were previously hidden from public view into the public realm for audiences to experience for free. Collaboration with local stakeholders and grassroots organisations were key to the development of The Line and continue to be fundamental to its success.
Initiated through a Spacehive crowdfunding campaign, which raised over £140,000 in less than eight weeks in 2014, The Line went from being the seed of an idea to opening to the public in just 18 months. In May 2015, The Line unveiled monumental sculptures along the footpaths of East London’s waterways. The inaugural loans, which included Eduardo Paolozzi, Abigail Fallis and Thomas J Price, came through an open submission and were selected by a panel that included Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger and Simon Myers, local resident and founder of Cody Dock. Alongside loaned artworks, The Line also highlights a number of pre-existing works along the route, including Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud, Richard Wilson’s A Slice of Reality and Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit.
In 2020, The Line celebrated its fifth anniversary with the extension of its route into Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, its first site-specific commission and the launch of its digital guide with Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. In 2022, The Line expanded both its team and board of trustees and launched three new site-specific commissions, which were complimented by a wide-ranging multi-disciplinary engagement programme.
2021 Youth Guides
The Youth Guides are a group of sixteen 18–20-year-olds from East London who engage the public in conversation about works of art on The Line, providing information and sharing their ideas. The group were recruited through local schools and colleges and offered pre-application training on CV and personal statement writing, followed by one-to-one feedback. Once selected, the group received paid training prior to starting work on The Line, which included sessions with artists Thomas J Price and Othello De’Souza Hartley as well as Olympic Champion and Adviser to The Line, Christine Ohuruogu.
The Youth Guides were stationed on The Line every Saturday and Sunday from July – September 2021.
2021 Youth Guides: Akif Rahman, Alfreda Sivalie, Anna Samantha Davidge-Berry, Asiyah Uddin, Ebenezer Boakye, Edie Joslin, Ella Marsh, Emmanuel Boakye, Eren Koc, Fatema Bushra, Ishita Islam, Lyra Robinson – Winning, Marcella Keating, Maria Dragoi, Obinna Enujiofor and Safa Khan.
2021 Youth Guides Producer: Matilde Lai.
Developed in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery and London College of Fashion as part of Visible / Invisible.
Supported by the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, funded by Westfield Stratford City and delivered by Foundation for Future London.