Spennymoor Gateways

Three pieces of public art were launched in the small County Durham town.  The Spennymoor Signs incorporate 2500 different surnames of Spennymoor residents and is a wonderful way of involving the public in this series of innovative permanent artworks. The concept has been creatively conceived and developed by artists Ira Lightman and Dan Civico.

The Spennymoor Signs are part of Sedgefield Borough Council’s regeneration campaign (The Spennymoor Town Centre Improvement Project) that is profiling the town’s desire to be recognised as a rejuvenated place for people to live, work and visit.

Names are a vital accessory in life that provide people with a method of identification and recognition – a form of signage.  This concept has been cleverly integrated into The Spennymoor Signs project, which has brought together the naming elements of both the geographical location of the town and its residents.

The three red and black stainless steel town centre boundary signs can be found in the following locations:

The Rectangular sign is situated on the corner of Carr Lane / Cambridge Street. The Cubed sign is situated on St Andrew’s Lane. The Triangular sign is situated on the corner of Oxford Road and King Street.

Dan Civico, a design artist of Gateshead, said “For me the signs are all about making connections – they visually connect the town boundaries to The Spennymoor Letters through the use of text, colour and form and each piece physically connects to every person in Spennymoor via the use of their name.  This unification of cultural heritage and visual impact will hopefully prove to be an inspiration to the town’s residents.”

Stainless steel, cold cathode
1500cm x 1500cm x 1500cm
Photo credit: Tony Griffiths