A fan-tash-tic coup: Salvador Dali sculpture to feature in Shrewsbury art trail

The Shrewsbury Arts Trail will be returning in July and August with the theme "movement". As well as Dali artwork, there will also be sculptures from Jacob Chandler as well as nearly 600 other local artists.

The trail was the brainchild of mum-of-one Jess Richards, who launched the town-wide exhibition during the pandemic.

In 2022 she attracted internationally renowned sculptor Andrew Logan to bring several pieces to Shrewsbury including the 4m high 'Cosmic Egg' outside Shrewsbury Castle and 'Excalibur' rising up from the Dingle.

“Shrewsbury is such a brilliantly creative place, there were great things going on all over town already - I just thought we’d be stronger together,” says creator Jess Richards, a mum of one who saw the need to bring artists together.

“It was first created as the town was coming out of lockdown, to have something lovely to do and inspire us having been shut away. It worked, it grew and built into a wave of positivity that hopefully demonstrates that art has huge power to connect us."

This year, Jess approached The Dali Universe, custodians of one of the largest groupings of Salvador Dali artworks in the world - and was stunned when they agreed to loan two Dali artworks to The Shrewsbury Arts Trail during July and August.

“I couldn’t believe I was even talking to them,” Jess said. “Dalí is so iconic. I studied him at school and am a huge fan of surrealism. He’s one of the greatest artists of all time - it is unbelievable to think we’re going to be able to appreciate his work up close in person in Shrewsbury.”

The sculpture trail, supported by Shrewsbury BID, will see Dalí`s famous five-metre tall ‘Surrealist Piano’ (1954) displayed outside Shrewsbury Castle. The impressive ‘Homage to Terpsichore’ sculpture (conceived in 1977), depicts the Greek muse of dance and chorus. It will probably be on view in the courtyard at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.

Moving such prestigious sculptures to Shrewsbury involves more than a bit of red tape - there are questions of insurance and Jess has to find art installers and import brokers, not to mention a huge crane. She also had to secure funding through local sponsorship and grant applications.

She said: “Having a sculpture trail in Shrewsbury just felt right. I could see it in my mind’s eye. I wanted something big and impactful. It’s about inspiring local artists, and showing that art is for everyone.

“I saw other arts trails and thought 'we’ve got that naturally here in Shrewsbury without even doing anything'. We’ve got all these spaces for art, all kinds of different studios and exhibitions and open studios - but there wasn’t someone to pull it all together and say 'bang, we’re here, this is what we do'. It’s about being a destination for the arts which Shrewsbury has already got anyway - we’ve just kind of fluffed it up a bit.

“Getting Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery on board, and Andrew Logan last year elevated it greatly. And now working with The Dali Universe, it just gets better and better! Other arts trails seem to have followed a set of rules. I wasn’t aware of those. I’ve come about it from a different angle.”

There will be exhibitions across multiple venues including shopping centres, the town museum, coffee shops, art galleries and churches - and even the town park. There’s also a special exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery featuring some very big names: LS Lowry, Fabian Perez, Sherree Valentine Daines, JPR Stitch, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Micheal James Talbot, Man Ray, John Swannell and more.

For more information visit shrewsburyartstrail.com.