By: Mark Milligan

Date:

Heritage

Explore your post-war public art

Audio tours of post-war public art in Bristol, Birmingham and Sheffield are being launched by Geotourist and Historic England.

The GPS-led guides are free on any smartphone through the Geotourist app and will take visitors and local people on a tour to rediscover the cities’ unburied treasures from the post-war years. England has a fascinating yet widely forgotten collection of public art from the post-war period.

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After the Second World War art was used to bring our public spaces back to life as the country began to repair its shattered towns and cities. This art was created for everyone, to humanise and enrich our streets, housing estates, expanding universities and schools. Sadly, our post-war public art is often overlooked or under-valued.

The free tours will guide listeners to post-war artworks across Bristol, Birmingham and Sheffield using only their smartphones. Listeners will be encouraged to scan the rooftops, peek through railings and discover the fascinating stories behind different pieces, some still cherished and others now forgotten.

Lasting around an hour, the tours will explore a range of works including Sheffield’s Vulcan; a sculpture in Bristol named Refugee, made by an artist whose family was obliterated by the holocaust; and a beautiful but crumbling mosaic in Birmingham.

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These tours are part of Historic England’s countrywide drive to encourage people to better appreciate our national collection of post-war public art. This collection is being explored in an exhibition currently at Somerset House, “Out There: Our Post-War Public Art” which will end on the 10th April 2016.

Geotourist is available free to download on iPhone and Google Play, Android app-stores

GeoTourist is your personal tour guide for the world’s top travel attractions, landmarks and beyond.
 Based on your exact location access auto-play guided audio tours in multiple languages right on your smartphone. Create your own tours, post photos and share your experiences via social media.

For Travellers: GeoTourist is FREE to register and easy to use.

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Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is a multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
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