Since 1994 Strange Cargo has developed distinctive ways of developing and delivering projects in the public realm with genuine community engagement and involvement, while still retaining the integrity of the artwork. Relating work in the public realm to its environment is a fundamental aspect of any brief, and Strange Cargo is able to work closely with commissioners to devise practical creative solutions to bringing site specific work into new build scenarios and regeneration initiatives.

Strange Cargo's expertise is in working directly with participants to create meaningful and relevant art, whether it be for festivals, galleries or streets. Using its expertise in working and engaging with large numbers of people, Strange Cargo's approach to public art is to connect directly to the spirit of an area through its people, and devise a piece which, by its very nature, promotes a sense of ownership within the community. The Rouse Kent Public Art Award-winning installation Like the Back of My Hand at Folkestone Central railway station, which charts the new millennium with bronze hand casts of people born in each of the 100 years of the 20th century, is a good example of Strange Cargo's human approach. Inside the station there is a touch screen unit which has photographic portraits and biographical information for every participant, including the first baby born in Shepway in the year 2000.

2008 has seen the unveiling of Strange Cargo's most ambitious public art work yet, Other People's Photographs. The company collected photographs of people outside in the streets for every street in the east Kent coastal town of Folkestone, with its satellite towns Sandgate and Cheriton, resulting in a collection of 1650 images representing life in the town over 120 years borrowed from the residents of the town. A photograph has been reproduced as a permanent street sign for each one of the 540 streets, and all the images with voice recordings telling the stories behind them are accessible on an interactive 3D map of the town on touch screen units at the Bouverie Place Shopping Centre, the main commissioning body for the project. To see examples of Strange Cargo's public artwork, click here, or if you would like to discuss a commission or project, please contact us.