Oh buoy! New maritime art plan for town

Up to 15 redundant shipping buoys would be placed at strategic locations to form a maritime trail - in a project similar to Lincoln’s Barons trail.

It is hoped the maritime trail will help to tell the story of Boston’s connections with the sea, its wealth through trade and its explorers who helped chart the globe.

Boston Borough Council is working with Transported Arts and the Port of Boston for the buoys project - with support already in place from Boston Big Local.

Five of the buoys have been donated by the Port of Boston and artists will be invited by Transported Arts to express their interest in reinterpreting them.

The other buoys will retain their used, fresh-from-the-ocean appearance.

Coun Claire Rylott, the borough council’s portfolio holder for tourism, arts, culture and heritage, said: “Our maritime past and present will look beyond this and into the future in a celebration of our land, sea and big sky connections and our remarkable history and heritage of which we are rightly proud.”

Sculptures are also planned for both sides of the tidal river, near the Pilgrim Fathers’ Memorial.

Subject to Arts Council support, Transported will commission artists to put forward ideas for the two separate installations at the memorial site and across the river at RSPB Frampton Marsh.

They will feature as part of Lincolnshire’s Structures on the Edge project, which already includes the Reflector sculpture at RSPB Frampton Marsh, the Cloud Bar sky observation platform and the Round and Round House bird-watching hide, both at Anderby Creek and the Sound Tower at Chapel Six Marshes.

Arts council funding is currently being sought for the project, which if granted, is expected to be complete by 2019/2020 in time for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim Fathers in 2020.