A new Platform for Public Art, FORGED in the Tees Valley, delivered across the UK.
FORGED is a groundbreaking initiative harnessing the origins of creative innovation in the Tees Valley and delivering vibrant public art across the UK.
Spearheaded by Middlesbrough Art Week and Navigator North, and backed by the Tees Valley Combined Authority, FORGED is establishing the region as a national hub for public art.
The programme is made up of three areas of focus, supporting emerging and mid-career artists through:
· Commissioning & Touring: Public artworks created in the Tees Valley will tour nationally.
· FORGED Foundations: A versatile public art display system, made in the Tees Valley will showcase a rolling programme of artworks
· FORGED Directory – a curated list of local material suppliers and fabricating businesses to support artists to produce work in the Tees Valley.
FORGED connects artists, builds lasting partnerships and actively engages audiences while showcasing the Tees Valley as a premier public art destination.
Check back here for further information, or contact FORGED Project Manager Maddie Maughan – maddie@maddiemaughan.co.uk
FORGED is delivered by Middlesbrough Art Week and Navigator North. It is funded by Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Stuart Langley
hold me and show me you love me
2025. Corten steel, powder-coated mild steel, mobile phones, cabochon LED lights, electrics and cables.
Incorporating publicly donated, defunct mobile phones, the sculpture invites you to consider the emotional and physical effects of a life lived through a screen. Inspired by and fabricated in the once thriving steel-making heartland of Teesside, it explores how shifting industries and technology have formed the foundation of human activity and continues to drive lives, dreams and delusions.
“It’s an honour to be able to present such a meaningful and ambitious work in the heart of Middlesbrough. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Navigator North, this collaborative work will further cement the town’s cutting-edge creative reputation and ignite much-needed conversations about lives beyond the screen. Thanks to Dave O’Donnell (fabrication), Artistic Solutions for technical support, Bobbie and Will at Sawdust and Christine and the wonderful team at Commerce House.” – Stuart Langley
‘hold me and show me you love me’ was commissioned by Navigator North as part of WE SHALL BE - a groundbreaking community-led commissioning programme, designed to transform public spaces around Middlesbrough Railway Station in Middlesbrough – a key gateway into the town. Strategically placed along principal sightlines/routes from the train station to the heart of the town and vice versa, commissioned artworks create a positive experience for visitors, leaving them with positive first impressions of Middlesbrough as a place of creativity, vibrancy, and imagination.
Stuart Langley’s sculpture is a key component in achieving this with an ambitious, temporary work sited within this area. This will have its premier in Middlesbrough from late 2025, before going on to tour through FORGED.
“I’ve been really impressed with the entire WE SHALL BE programme and would like to thank everyone who’s been involved. I’d urge people to come and see the murals and new public art for themselves.” - Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke.
WE SHALL BE is a Navigator North programme delivered in collaboration with, Middlesbrough Council, TransPennine Express, Commerce Chambers and FORGED (Middlesbrough Art Week and Navigator North Partnership-funded programme through Tees Valley Combined Authority) with funding from Arts Council England.
Artist bio
Stuart Langley creates collaborative, large-scale works with light, sculpture, and installation. His work draws on utopian ideas where aspiration, comfort, and transaction blur: from capitalist-coated theme parks to Japan’s kawaii aesthetic, he is interested in the motivations behind surface-level amusements.
Influenced by the absurd glamour of John Waters and Divine David, the surreal theatrics of ’80s fantasy films and everyday decay, his output encourages a belief in alternative realities. Embracing visual language as a way to connect, his work seeks to create moments of magic – offering pause from the everyday and a fleeting sense of presence, freedom, and hopeful escape. A temporary antidote to the weight of rules, expectations and uniformity.
His work has been showcased internationally, including Klanglicht Graz, Durham Lumiere, Canary Wharf Winter Lights, ilight Singapore and Nuit Blanche Brussels.
Photography by Rachel Deakin.
New Public Sculpture by Alia Gargum
Photo by Ellen Dixon.
We’re excited to share that artist Alia Gargum has been awarded a Henry Moore Foundation Winter Grant 2025 to produce a new public sculpture as part of FORGED, which will go on display as part of Common Ground Micro-Farm.
The sculpture will invite reflection on nationality, displacement, and life under authoritarian rule, offering a visual and emotional space for dialogue among local, migrant, and diaspora communities. It will be designed to frame its surroundings and will prompt viewers to consider how identity is shaped by place, memory, and movement.
This project marks a continuation of Alia’s exploration into exile, identity, and power, rooted in her experience as a Libyan-British artist forcibly displaced from Libya. Growing up under the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, Alia was deeply impacted by the atmosphere of fear and control that shaped daily life. Decades on, the lasting presence of both oppression and a complex nostalgia for home continues to inform her research and artistic practice.
More than a static object, this sculpture will function as both artwork and pedagogical tool, sparking public engagement around themes of forced displacement and the emotional terrain of migration. We look forward to seeing this one come together.
The Kiosk at Hopetown
Summer highlights from FORGED’s presentation of The Kiosk at Hopetown, Darlington.
The Kiosk, by artist Adam Shaw, is an interactive touring artwork exploring memory, nostalgia, and local heritage through a mobile creative experience. Inspired by E.D. Walker & Wilson newsagent’s kiosk, which is on display as part of Hopetown’s collection, Adam has reimagined The Kiosk as a space to delve into the area’s rich local history through conservation, creative activities, and visual storytelling.
Brought to Darlington through Navigator North and Middlesbrough Art Week’s FORGED programme, with funding through the S&DR 26miles Community Grant Scheme and made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Creative Darlington, and Hopetown Darlington.
The Kiosk coincided with S&DR200 Celebrations, alongside the STEAM to the Future Exhibition in the Exhibition Hall and Titans of Steam that took place later in the year. It encouraged the public and its host communities to share stories and embark on a journey through time, bringing local heritage to life through creative activities.
Adam Shaw, Kiosk at Middlesbrough Railway Station as part of Most Creative Station. Photo Credit: Rachel Deakin.
Stuart Langley: Love IRL - Photo Credit: Rachel Deakin.
John Ayscough: We Walked out of the Wildnerness. Photo Credit: Joanne Coates.
Funded by Tees Valley Combined Authority
