Roll up for Berwick Parade, an artwork to animate the historic barracks
London-based artist Matthew Rosier, who works with communities and with technology to create stunning installations, is seeking participants for his new venture, Berwick Parade.
His aim, over one weekend, is to show Berwick Barracks transformed into a living parade ground with large-scale projections on three walls.
It’s the first commission as part of The Living Barracks, a project designed to ensure the future of the historic site by turning it into a busy cultural hub and visitor destination.
The plan is for it to accommodate the town’s archives and collections, contemporary visual art and the Kings Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum, and for it to be open all year round.
Matthew Rosier was commissioned by The Maltings (Berwick) Trust on behalf of Create Berwick, a five-year cultural development initiative supported by North East Combined Authority and Northumberland County Council.
Berwick Barracks, designed by renowned architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, poses a tasty challenge for an artist who has previously transformed trees at Pontefract Castle into giants and recreated London’s Palace of Whitehall, lost to fire 300 years ago, by means of interactive soundscapes.
Rosier’s work has been seen in public spaces as far apart as Paris, Tokyo and Austin and he has been commissioned by councils and major museums. He studied architecture and design in Oxford, London and Italy.
If you fancy being part of his Berwick Parade, a series of information sessions will take place at The Maltings, Berwick, on Thursday, November 21 at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm, 4.30pm and 6pm.
Places are free but places must be booked via The Maltings website. All are welcome and refreshments are promised.
The Berwick Parade spectacle will be free to view at Berwick Barracks over the weekend of February 28 to March 2, 2025.