New art trail celebrates Southbury’s 'rich identity'

Sculptures on lampposts around the area have been hand-designed and 3D-printed to capture the personal stories of local people

Among the local people featured on the Southbury Art Trail is sound engineer Jake Sanders — Among the local people featured on Southbury Art Trail is sound engineer Jake Sanders (credit Dyspla)

A new art trail in Enfield has turned a series of lampposts into sites for sculptural portraits celebrating the achievements and contributions of local people.

Local arts group Dyspla launched Southbury Art Trail on Saturday (7^th), with mini sculptures now adorning 19 lampposts in the area, alongside poems written by students from Kingsmead School.

The project celebrates Southbury’s “rich identity” and “manufacturing heritage” while promoting the idea of the ‘third place’ – communal spaces between home, work and school where “connection thrives”.

Each sculpture has been hand-designed and 3D-printed to capture the personal story of local people, whose stories are brought to life through the poetry from local students.

Among the people featured on the trail is Enfield musician Femi Koleoso, from Mercury Music Prize-winning jazz band Ezra Collective; Skyva Bim, a designer who turns old car parts into furniture; Mary Duggan and Anthony Fisher from Enfield Poets; and sound engineer Jake Sanders, who runs Clang Studios in Ponders End.

The trail begins in Southbury Road near the railway station and continues along Kingsway Road, before culminating in Queensway Road.

Local poet Anthony Fisher with his lamppost sculpture (credit Dyspla)

Lennie Varvarides, co-founder of arts group Dyspla which led on the creation of the trail, said: “The trail honours the people, identities and stories that shape Southbury and Ponders End.

“It’s about making space for different perspectives and lived experiences in the places we share every day.”

The trail was commissioned by Enfield Council as part of its ‘Shaping Southbury’ programme, which is delivering improvements to the public realm between Southbury Road and Queensway. It was supported by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Corrina Batteson, acting headteacher at Kingsmead School, added: “It was a pleasure working with Dyspla on this project; the students gained a lot from the experience and enjoyed lending their voices to the portrait of our local community.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with Dyspla on any other future projects.”

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