New trail celebrates city centre’s art and architectural heritage

An arts and heritage trail championing Milton Keynes’ design history has arrived in the city centre.

Milton Keynes is known as a model ‘new planned city’ around the world and Look Again tells the story of the new city’s people and places and highlights its standout modern heritage, art, architecture, and design.

The 24-stop free trail runs from Fred Roche Gardens to Lloyds Court and includes artworks in and around Centre:MK.

Scanning a QR code on any of the trail signs takes you to www.lookagainmk.city where you can learn more about that specific piece of art, building or green space, giving a fresh view of the cityscape.

Free tours of the trail are being offered to local people who want fresh insights into where they live and work. Milton Keynes Forum (the city’s civic society) is running two walks in May led by experienced guides with a deep knowledge of the city centre:

• Saturday 18 May (14.00): God is in the Detail - a look at the architectural detailing and structure underpinning the design of Central Milton Keynes led by Tim Skelton: Meet at the Black Horse outside Lloyd’s Court, Silbury Boulevard.
• Saturday 25 May (11.00): A Whisper, a Myth, and a Mighty Blow - a walk around public art with a sideways look at some of the urban myths that have arisen over the years: Meet outside the Library on Silbury Boulevard.

These sessions are free, but spaces should be booked in advance here. For further details contact Milton Keynes Forum at miltonkeynesforum@googlemail.com.

A photo competition is running at www.destinationmiltonkeynes.co.uk/look-again-competition until 8 June. Photos of people enjoying the trail, or of the art, architecture or spaces featured in it can be uploaded to the Destination Milton Keynes site for the chance to win two tickets donated by MK Gallery to their current exhibition ‘Saul Leiter: An Unfinished World’. Saul Leiter was a pioneer of colour photography, particularly celebrated for his photos of daily life in 1950/60s New York City.

The trail has been developed by Milton Keynes City Council using funding from developers, working with the City Discovery Centre and Living Archive Milton Keynes to develop the Look Again material based on their research and archives.

Further bids for funding, if successful, would allow the city council to extend the arts and heritage trail across the entire city centre, working with more partners to tell the stories of Milton Keynes past, present and future. The city council is asking people who have used the trail to share feedback via the website to help shape the project’s future.