£2,000 funding for ‘Unity’ sculpture planned for Hitchin gardens

A £2,000 grant has been allocated for a sculpture to be built in a popular public garden in the centre of Hitchin.

The dove shaped pond already installed in the Quaker Group Peace Garden. Picture: Hitchin Quaker Group - Credit: Archant

The grant, funded by North Herts District Council will see a new specially commissioned stainless steel sculpture come to the Hitchin Quaker Meeting Peace Garden, near Paynes Park and Bedford Road.

Working together with the Art Department of Hitchin Boys School to design the new sculpture, the Hitchin Quaker Group will commission Diane Maclean, Hertfordshire based sculptor and environmental artist, to create the sculpture entitled ‘Unity’.

Chris Kell, convenor of the Peach Garden group said: “We are so pleased to have been offered this grant. It helps us on our way to the £10,000 we need for a professional sculpture – only £8,000 to go!

“We hope this will be an eye-catching and thought-provoking piece of public art in Paynes Park, and that it will be enjoyed by everyone.”

Cllr Ian Albert, chair of the Hitchin Committee said: “The Peace Garden offers people who are visiting or working in the town a much needed chance to step out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and take a quiet moment of reflection in beautiful surroundings.

“We wish the group the very best with raising the rest of the funds needed to help them commission this great new sculpture, and hope that the proposed grant from the NHDC Hitchin Committee will encourage others to get behind and contribute towards this fantastic initiative.”