please empty your brain below
Had a friend who went to art college. They worked out that with at least one tutor, the bolx was more important than the art.

Jon Jones | 23.06.24 - 7:52 a.m. | #

And this is business improvement--how? Another bunch of prodnoses finding ways to spend OUR money to justify their 'positions' And what connection is there to 'Heritage'? it seems to be all around these monstrosities, yet ignored!

Ian J | 23.06.24 - 8:01 a.m. | #

I had never heard of AR, and having now looked it up on the internet, I'm scarcely any the wiser.

Ian | 23.06.24 - 8:11 a.m. | #

Presumably somebody agreed to pay for this.

strawbrick | 23.06.24 - 8:15 a.m. | #

#9: I realise that at this point you were beyond caring, but that top hat is not willow-pattern, just blue-and-white pottery.

martin'O'Holcombe | 23.06.24 - 8:52 a.m. | #

Maybe because it was the first thing like this I encountered, but none of these sorts of things compare to the Elephant Parade.

For a start, there was hundreds of them, so it felt like they really had invaded all of London. They were also more varied, with some clever ideas and some brilliantly executed art. They were also, most importantly, fun.

I was going to dismiss all the recent art trails, but I really enjoyed the movie themed displays at the Chelsea in Bloom last year. Again, clever, artistic and fun.

Ian J - as lacking as 'here are some shapes with splashes of paint on them' is as an idea, given the press coverage it's probably still going to bring far more business to the local area than it costs to run.

Peter of London | 23.06.24 - 8:52 a.m. | #

Local businesses voted to form the business improvement districts involved and fund them through their business rates. I hope they think they are getting value for money by funding the likes of “We Are Placemaking” to create this sort of nonsense year after year. Their website is clear about their intention to “increase engagement, footfall and dwell time” and “drive sales to F&B and retail”. Artbolx is a byproduct.

Andrew | 23.06.24 - 8:55 a.m. | #

I looked at the London Heritage Quarter pages and went through the slide show. Looked very glowing in presentation, and despite the Crown blurb stating that it was there to "...tell the story of the wonderful mix of culture and values...", I only clearly saw one person of colour in the presentation, and he was serving tea!

You're right, the whole thing is a shameful load of bolx and the map is not really a trail, rather an advert for eateries.

Thanks for doing this for us. A real public service. Thank you.

David | 23.06.24 - 9:05 a.m. | #

Nice plinths though

Nigel | 23.06.24 - 9:09 a.m. | #

Augmented Reality is adding things you can't see with your own eyes to the view or context that you can, and it's one of the most useful concepts of the last 20 years.

The most practical example I use every day is live traffic feeds on a navigation app - my reality is as far as the next bend, so the app augments it with details of the stationery queue.

It's the same concept for engineers being able to see where pipes are behind walls and under roads, and IKEA being able to show you what a piece of furniture will look like in your room.

Quizzical Eyebrow | 23.06.24 - 9:38 a.m. | #

The “London Heritage Quarter”. Thank goodness this has finally been delineated, as London is famously devoid of “heritage” beyond its boundaries.

Philip | 23.06.24 - 9:50 a.m. | #

The 'Meh' trail.

Still Anon | 23.06.24 - 10:49 a.m. | #

I like the way you got the bus and taxi with their real counterparts in the background.

I presume the wellie boots at Westminster represents wading through the verbal effluence that emanates from within!

Cornish Cockney | 23.06.24 - 11:24 a.m. | #

The prize of afternoon 'tea' in the associated social media competition is served up with double bolx.

'Endulge in the ultimate Bollinger Afternoon Tea experience at Conrad London St. James. InfiniTea, offers free-flowing Champagne Bollinger alongside an abundance of delicate scones, sandwiches, and divine cakes. Enjoy the elegant surroundings of the Orchard Room, with its stunning floral feature wall and glass roof, as you savour a fresh take on British afternoon tea in the heart of London’s Westminster'.

Rod | 23.06.24 - 11:42 a.m. | #

“Business Improvement Districts” are normally funded by a compulsory precept on business rates, but not always universally supported. The Hampstead one was abolished after a campaign by local business owners who considered it total bolx and a vastly expensive outlay for little return (it was run by the same person who ran the attempted appalling rebrand of Holborn as “midtown”).

But presumably the bigger and richer hospitality and retail businesses in the West End have deeper pockets and think it’s worth wasting money to try and distract visitors from genuine artworks in the National Gallery or architecture such as Westminster Abbey.

Labourer | 23.06.24 - 12:03 p.m. | #

Right on cue, this afternoon the Mayor tweets
"Look out for this new interactive art trail featuring eye-catching sculptures which has popped up across central London."

Still bolx.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 23.06.24 - 3:47 p.m. | #

I'll confess to quite enjoying the recent "art dogs" in and around Canary Wharf, as it a) added a bit of colour to the steel and glass corporate hellscape and b) got me out of the office and actually walking, so job done I guess. The trend of renaming everything as a "something" quarter or meaningless district like "mid town" does very much need to be stopped however, especially when the areas in question all have perfectly well established names an characters.

Phil | 23.06.24 - 4:08 p.m. | #

Undoubtedly bolx. I agree, but other opinions are available.

Frank F | 23.06.24 - 5:46 p.m. | #

The bus photo is another of your true gems.

But, The Elephants will never be bettered.

Blue Witch | 23.06.24 - 7:38 p.m. | #

The Heritage Quarter have been paying for a wind band to give free concerts at lunchtime in Victoria Embankment Gardens -- last week they might have been an American school band on tour -- and this is a much better use of brand-dissemination money.

HTFB | 24.06.24 - 10:13 a.m. | #

'Always take it with a pinch of salt when a media outlet ejaculates over a press release.'

The mental picture prompted by that phrase did not sit well with my recently-consumed breakfast.

Wendy C | 24.06.24 - 10:32 a.m. | #

I quite liked the "Year of the Bus" trails from 2014. If something like that had been repeated 5 years later, then my 5 year son probably would have enjoyed it.

MilesT | 25.06.24 - 9:40 a.m. | #











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