Public art

An exploration of public art

The borough is home to a vast collection of public art. Since 1989 the council has followed a Percent for Art policy, encouraging developers to include art and craft in new developments and improvement schemes.

From sculptures to seating, and gates to glasswork, this has resulted in a vibrant range of public art. The brochure below provides an introduction to much of the work on display.

Public Art brochure(PDF) [2 Mb]

Our brochure is being updated and we aim to have a revised version in place later in 2025.

Streets Alive and TrailTale

Come and discover art work, on the streets of Basingstoke!

Streets Alive is a creative project in Basingstoke, bringing colour to the street furniture in the town centre. Beginning in March 2022, our benches, planters and telecoms boxes were brought to life by some of the borough’s most talented artists and storytellers.

Since the project began, we have continued to add to the works on display. You can find work by artists Rachel Davis, Louise Hight, Neil Jepson, Liam Kelleher, Corinne Marsh, Laura Messin, Kev Munday, Rachel O’Connell, Jacky Purtill, Jill Smith, Sian Storey Art, Willow the Wispa and artWell.

Short commissioned poems and quotes from Jane Austen can be spotted on benches, illustrated by Fátima Pantoja and Laura Fisher and written by Lydia Thomson, Rebecca Lyon and Josh Dixon.

We’ve partnered with TrailTale to create a self-guided walk. To enjoy the walk, download the free TrailTale app to your smartphone and discover the art on the streets.

A brochure highlighting the Streets Alive artworks is being updated to include the latest additions to our outdoor art gallery and will be available later in 2025.