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.
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.
We Shall Be
Eye-catching new murals have appeared on the A66 flyover in Middlesbrough town centre.
The artworks are part of WE SHALL BE, a new community driven-programme designed to transform the area around the railway station.
Close to the popular STACK and Bloom nightspots, one side of the flyover is now emblazoned with ‘Erimus’, the town’s original Latin motto, with the other side displaying the ‘We Shall Be’ English translation.
Led by Navigator North, WE SHALL BE aims to reflect the spirit, pride and resilience of the town.
Through a series of community engagement sessions, artists Nic Golightly and Sarah Falconer gathered creative ideas from local communities which helped inform the murals.
Nick Blaney, aka Goodnight Vienna, was commissioned to produce the large-scale murals themed on the motto of Erimus/We Shall Be which will be completed this month.
They will be installed alongside murals designed by Nic Golightly.
Separately, acclaimed Teesside artist Stuart Langley was commissioned to create a striking public sculpture for outside the new entrance to the railway station.
Titled ‘hold me and show me you love me’, it features a heart made up of publicly donated old mobile phones, held in a huge steel hand. As a co-commission with FORGED, it mirrors the emotional ambition of the screens in our hands through a marriage of old mobile phones and welded corten steel.
Stuart Langley said: "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.”
Navigator North Director Vicky Holbrough said: “We are thrilled to see the impact of these artworks and what they represent, going into the Historic Quarter and hope that they serve as a cultural beacon for the town and its visitors. Without our amazing partners, artists, communities and funders none of this would have been possible.”
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “It’s brilliant that the murals have taken inspiration from the town’s motto. They’re really striking and add character to an area of our town that is on the up.
“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.”
WE SHALL BE builds on Navigator North’s work from 2020, including the Historic England-funded High Street Heritage Action Zone and Most Creative Station programme, funding by Arts Council England.
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-funded programme through Tees Valley Combined Authority) with funding from Arts Council England.
Images of ‘Hold me and show me you love me’ by Rachel Deakin.
A Day of Creative Activities in Hopetown Darlington at The Kiosk
The Kiosk is landing in The Goods Yard this Saturday for an exhibition as part of FORGED. Join in on a day of creative activities from 10:30am - 4pm.
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 in North Road Station Museum. 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 will connect directly to the S&DR200 Celebrations in 2025, alongside the STEAM to the Future Exhibition in the Exhibition Hall and Titans of Steam later in the year. It invites the public and its host communities to share stories and embark on a journey through time, bringing local heritage to life through creative activities.
Location: The Goods Yard, Hopetown Darlington, McNay Street, Darlington, DL3 6SW
New Commission Through WE SHALL BE
Navigator North’s WE SHALL BE is a community-led commissioning programme, designed to transform public spaces around Middlesbrough Railway Station in Middlesbrough – a key gateway into the town.
We are thrilled to be working with local artist Stuart Langley who has been commissioned by Navigator North to create a striking new public artwork for the programme.
This work will be available for hire through FORGED following its presentation in 2025 as part of WE SHALL BE.
Find out more about We Shall Be Here.
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
