In March 2024, Milton Keynes Arts Centre was invited by Milton Keynes City Council to work on a new Public Art Commission with residents of the village of Sherington, using Section 106 funding which had been identified to help mitigate the impact of new developments on the village.
Sherington has a rich history and a very active Historical Society. The housing developments had brought new residents into the village with their own stories and histories to share. We were keen to engage both old and new residents in the artwork’s planning, making and positioning. From November 2024 - March 2025 we coordinated a series of meetings and creative workshops within Sherington in order to meet residents, to find out what the village meant to them and what they hoped to gain from a public art commission. This consultation period was also used to improve understanding of what defined public art, to outline the commissioning process and explain the costs involved.
From this consultation period, an artist's brief was agreed and we made a call out to artists for Expressions of Interest in the commissioning opportunity. We received 27 high quality applications and Sherington residents and Parish Council then worked with Milton Keynes Arts Centre in shortlisting and interviewing three artists in July. In September 2025, the appointment of the artist, Charlotte Howarth was announced.
Charlotte Howarth is one of the foremost letter-cutters currently working in the UK and has over 35 years of experience of creating exquisite artworks and memorials for public and private spaces. Charlotte has been commissioned to produce public works of national importance. She was part of the team who created the COVID Memorial in St Paul’s Cathedral and, in conjunction with the Cathedral Studios in Canterbury, the Donor Windows in the Queen’s Gallery at Westminster Abbey. She also has experience of more personal private commissions that celebrate and record the life of a loved one.
We look forward to working with Charlotte in Sherington.
Talking Public Art with Milton Keynes Arts Centre
Tuesday 28 January | 6-7.30pm
Sherington Village Hall
Following our conversations with residents in November we are invited residents you to join us for a meeting in which we will outlined our proposed approach to developing an artist’s brief for a public artwork in Sherington and the criteria associating its funding. We will also present examples of other public artworks for discussion.
School Workshop with artist Sarah Hunt
On Monday 3 February artist Sarah Hunt led a play-based workshop with Sherington school, that was about mapping Sherington.
The children were invited to create an imaginative and playful representation of Sherington responding to prompts (for example their journey to school or favourite places), and exploring a variety of materials and making techniques.
'A village community
nestling in a fold of the hill
surrounded by farmland'
-Sherington resident
