Dream (sculpture) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dream
Artist	Jaume Plensa
Year	2009
Type	Dolomite on cast concrete
Location	Sutton Manor Colliery, St Helens

Dream is a large sculpture and a piece of public art created by Jaume Plensa. It was finished in 2009 and stands in Sutton, St Helens, Merseyside, England. This amazing artwork cost about £1.8 million to build. It was paid for by a special project called The Big Art Project, with help from the Arts Council England, The Art Fund, and Channel 4.

Why was the Dream sculpture created?

In 2008, the town of St Helens joined Channel 4's "The Big Art Project." This project aimed to create big public artworks in different places. The Dream sculpture was the final result for St Helens. It stands on the site of the old Sutton Manor Colliery, which was a coal mine.

St Helens has a strong connection to the coal mining industry. There are other artworks in the town that remember this history. These include the old gates of Sutton Manor Colliery and sculptures showing miners at work.

Local people and about 15 former miners from the colliery helped choose Dream. They were involved in deciding what kind of artwork would be best. The area around the sculpture was also made beautiful with new plants and landscaping. This land used to be wild after the mine closed.

What does the Dream sculpture look like?

Dream is a very tall, white sculpture. It is about 20 metres (66 feet) high and weighs around 500 tonnes. The sculpture looks like the head and neck of a young woman. Her eyes are closed, as if she is meditating or dreaming.

The sculpture is covered in sparkling white Spanish dolomite. This material was chosen to be a bright contrast to the dark coal that was once mined underground. People hope Dream will become a famous symbol for North West England. It could be as well-known as Antony Gormley's Angel of the North in North East England.

Jaume Plensa, the artist, said he wanted something to "come out of the earth." He decided to create the head of a nine-year-old girl. He felt this would represent the idea of the future.

The first plan for the sculpture included a beam of light shining from the top of the head into the sky. Its working name was Ex Terra Lucem, which means "From the ground, light." This was also St Helens' old town motto. However, the Highways Agency had concerns, so the sculpture was not lit at first. Later, in 2010, a new plan was made to light it up from below.

How was the Dream sculpture built?

The Dream sculpture is made from many specially shaped concrete pieces. There are 90 pieces in total, arranged in 14 layers. The head alone has 54 parts, each weighing about 9 tonnes.

To make the sculpture a brilliant white, dolomite was mixed into the concrete. They also added titanium dioxide. This special ingredient helps the sculpture clean itself! It took 60 days to cast all the pieces. Each piece needed its own unique mould.

The foundations of the sculpture go very deep into the ground. They extend about 38 metres (125 feet) down. Eight strong piles were driven into the earth to hold the sculpture securely in place.

Timeline: How Dream came to be

This timeline shows the key events that led to the creation of Dream and its impact.

Early History of Sutton Manor Colliery

• 1906: Work began on Sutton Manor Colliery. Two shafts were dug deep into the ground to reach the coal.
• 1910: Coal mining officially started at the colliery.
• 1964: This was a busy time for the mine. It employed 1,400 people and produced 1,500 tons of coal every week.
• 1984: A long strike began in May, making it a very hard time for the mine and its workers.
• 1991: In May, it was announced that the colliery would close. It closed in June, even though there was still a lot of coal underground.

From Wasteland to Woodland

• 2001: The Forestry Commission took over the site. They started a project called "Wasteland to Woodland."
• 2004: The ground was prepared, and 50,000 young trees were planted. These included alder, willow, and ash trees.

The Big Art Project Begins

• 2005: Sean Durney, an Arts Officer, suggested the Sutton Manor site for a new TV show called ‘The Big Art Project’. This show wanted to create unique public artworks across the UK. Many other places also applied.
  • A group of former miners from Sutton Manor quickly formed. They wanted a memorial on the site of their old workplace. This group helped St Helens' application stand out.
  • The project was given the working title ‘Ex Terra Lucem’ (from the earth comes light). This was St Helens' old town motto, linked to coal and glass.
• 2006:
  • January: Laurie Peake was hired to help choose the artist. She had previously worked on Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' sculptures.
  • March: Channel 4 chose 12 sites for the project, including St Helens.
  • April: St Helens was not chosen as one of the six winning sites at first.
  • November: The project's leaders reviewed their decision. They decided to include Sutton Manor as a seventh location.

Choosing the Artist and Design

• 2007:
  • February: The former miners group chose Jaume Plensa from a list of 12 artists. They wanted a modern artwork, not just a traditional mining monument.
  • April: Plensa visited the site and met the former miners. He felt a strong connection with them.
  • August: Plensa showed his first idea, a 20-metre miner's lamp called ‘The Miners Soul’. The miners felt it looked too much to the past, so they asked for something more forward-looking.
• 2008:
  • February: Jaume Plensa returned with his new idea, ‘Dream’. This design was the elongated head of a 9-year-old girl. Her closed eyes would show her dreaming about the future of the site and St Helens.
  • The sculpture would be white, using concrete and Spanish dolomite. This would represent light and contrast with the dark coal. It would sit on a base shaped like a giant miner's tally. The miners loved this idea!
  • September: St Helens Council approved the plan for Dream. However, the team learned that the sculpture could not be lit up yet.
  • October: Evans Concrete won the job to build Dream in 90 separate concrete panels.

Construction and Opening

• 2009:
  • April: The last section of Dream was lifted into place. This was a big event with lots of media attention.
  • May: Channel 4's TV series about "The Big Art Project" began. St Helens and Dream were a key part of the show.
  • May: The official opening ceremony took place. Over 2,000 people attended, along with brass bands and choirs. Jaume Plensa was the special guest.

Life of the Dream Sculpture

• 2010:
  • May: Lights were installed at the base of the sculpture, but they were damaged by vandals.
  • November: St Helens Council planned to add digital information about the colliery, the site, and Dream.
• 2011:
  • Some people criticized Dream, but St Helens Council reported that 24,000 people visited the site between February and May.
  • August: Lord Melvyn Bragg visited Dream to interview Gary Conley for a BBC2 series. He called Dream "A cultural monument for a class."
• 2012: Gary Conley was interviewed about Dream for BBC's ‘The One Show’. He shared that over 64,000 people had visited the site in just one year.
• 2013: Screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce visited Dream. He told Gary Conley that Dream and the motto ‘Ex Terra Lucem’ inspired the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
• 2014: Gary Conley was featured in newspapers in front of Dream. He said the sculpture would help remember the mining history in St Helens.
• 2015: The Liverpool Echo newspaper featured Dream in an article called ’26 Amazing Things About The Dream Sculpture’. It included aerial videos and fun facts, like how builders drank 5,500 cups of tea during construction!
• 2016: Official figures showed that 85,000 people had visited Dream since the previous year.
• 2017: A free community yoga session was held at Dream to celebrate the Summer Solstice.

Dream Awards

The Dream sculpture has won many important awards:

• The prestigious Marsh Sculpture Prize 2009 (for the UK's best sculpture of the year).
• The Best Community Artwork at Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) North West Planning Achievement Award 2009.
• The 2009 British Precast Concrete Federation Creativity in Concrete Award (awarded to Jaume Plensa).
• The Ambassador Of St Helens 2009 (awarded to Gary Conley for his work on and promotion of Dream).
• The 2010 Civic Trust Award.
• The 2010 Civic Trust Special Award for Community Engagement.
• The 2010 Places of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme (PIQAS) accreditation.
• The 2010 Visit England Northwest Tourism Award for Public Space (presented to the former miners).
• The 2010 Merseyside Civic Society Best Open Space Award.
• The 2010 Merseyside Civic Society Civic Pride Award (voted for by the public).